A Hogwarts Murder Mystery
by chumett
Summary: "Don't trust the snakes." Elizabeth Leoncourt is a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. She's best friends with the Potters and an excellent student. But a string of murders has turned this year upside down. Families of known Death Eaters from the wizarding war are being picked off and Harry Potter, head auror, is on the case.
1. Chapter 1

_Summary: "Don't trust the snakes." Elizabeth Leoncourt is a sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardy. She's best friends (and by default part of the family) with the Potters and an excellent student. But a string of murders has turned this year upside down. Families of known Death Eaters from the wizarding war are being picked off and Harry Potter, head auror, is on the case. But can Elizabeth and her friends trust that the case will be solved before the murders hit Hogwarts? And will Elizabeth's ties with the Potters and new friendship with a certain Scorpius Malfoy put her in the line of fire as well?_

Chapter One

The door closed behind me, cutting off the supply of chilly air and rain. I paused and inhaled a deep breath. The air was stale, but it was much warmer than outside. Loud voices carried down from the top of the stairs.

"...And then we went to Time Square where he tried to kiss me when the clock struck. But I told the bloke that I wasn't looking for a quick hook up on my vacation and besides, it was already the new year at home so why even bother?"

As I made my way up a door slammed. I tucked my book under my arm and dug around in my pocket for the old brass key to our door. I muddled around in my jacket pockets for a while before I realized with an exasperated breath that I had left my house keys sitting on the shelf in the break room. What a _stupid_ mistake that was! I was supposed to leave that morning and I would have no time to go back to get the key. And being a Sunday night Ms. Albrich had definitely gone home early to make dinner for her grandkids. What a mess.

"You waitin' for something there nutter?"

I looked up to see Hilde standing in the corner of the corridor with her chipped, manicured hands resting on her narrow hips. Her white track suit was stained on her shoulder where she must have spilled coffee but she was trying to hide it with her bleached hair. She looked like she had a nasty cold. I felt bad for her.

"You should go to the doctor, Hilde. You look sick."

She scoffed. "And who are you? Me mum? Why don't you take your skinny little arse and go back to whatever laboratory you came out of, eh?"

Her and her posse shared a giggle and then one by one marched by me and up the stairs to Hilde's flat. They had a go at me, Hilde knocking my book out of my hand and another yanking hard on my scarf. I gasped as the scarf pulled tight against my throat, choking me a little. They all laughed and disappeared up the stairs.

_She's troubled_, I thought to myself to ease the anger bubbling inside. _What's she got besides a crazy mum and a few friends that only like her for the drugs they do? I'm better than that. I am._

I adjusted my scarf and pulled it over my nose to hide the red of anger and embarrassment on my face before picking up my book and testing the door to see if it was open. It was. When I closed it I closed it a little too hard.

"My goodness Elizabeth! Be a little more careful would you?" I whirled around to see my mother standing in the kitchen, pouring hot cocoa. "Was that Hilde out there again?"

"Oh. Um, yes."

Her lips pursed and she turned back towards her handy work. "Please be careful around that girl, okay?"

I nodded. If she knew what Hilde had done she would be so angry. I couldn't tell her. Not because it would be embarrassing, but because I didn't want her to get involved. She was right to be cautious of Hilde. She had it in with the wrong people. No matter how bad I felt for her I couldn't deny the fact that being associated with her wasn't the greatest idea.

"Who's the extra cup for?"

"For me."

That voice! I mean, I had been expecting it but still! To know that he had actually come...that all of this was still real. I spun on my heel, not particularly sure of where he was exactly, only the origin of his voice, and dove towards him. He was there with open arms and a bright smile to receive me. His effortless laugh swam through the air. I had forgotten how at ease he made me feel.

"James!"

He ruffled my hair and grinned at me. "And how are you on this lovely night?"

"Just dandy," I said ducking out to keep my hair in tact. "Where's Al?"

He sighed and threw a hand in the air, traipsing over to one of our mismatched stools and settling himself in. "Well, he got into a spot of trouble and was detained. So you won't be seeing him until tomorrow. Besides, last time I took both of you home he lost all of his eyelashes, though he didn't tell anyone but me. I figured the side-along apparition was enough with just the two of us . And I'm honestly not so sure how legal the former was anyways."

Madison turned to James with raised eyebrows. "You're so reckless. You could have really hurt Al couldn't you have? What with the splinching."

"I regret telling you about that."

She smiled a little bit. "I still want you to take me. Elizabeth won't."

James and I gave each other a look before we turned to the fresh cocoa mum had made. That's when I remembered all about the key.

"Mum I can't believe I did this but I left the key at the store. It's in the breakroom bookshelf—you know the one with all the old books she lets us take home?—right up at the top. I'm so sorry I forgot to grab it I was in such a hurry to close."

She turned to me with a smile. "Don't worry about it sweetheart. I'll just pick it up before I go to work."

"Well we won't be in any hurry," James shrugged, taking a sip of his cocoa. "We could go get them before we leave."

"Don't worry about it sweetie," mum said flashing him a broken smile.

My brow furrowed and I shook my head. "We'll go get the key in the morning. Ms. Albrich doesn't even open the doors until eleven o'clock."

"Are you sure?" She asked looking at James.

He swallowed a big gulp a little too quickly and pounded his fist against his chest, hacking a little. "Ehem. Excuse me. We aren't in any rush."

Mum nodded her head and turned back towards the pan she was frying eggs in. I watched as she cracked another egg. Her fingers were shaking as she did so. I frowned and turned to Madison who was watching from the couch as well. She caught my eyes and shrugged.

"Madison would you mind setting up the couch for James?"

She set her pencils and sketchbook on the coffee table and unfolded her legs. I watched her walk towards the cabinets to get out our spare set of sheets. The way she walked reminded me of a ballerina. She was so graceful in her step and precise with the swing of her arm. She was sixteen years old and the stars in her eyes told the stories of the universe. Sometimes she made me so jealous.

James helped her lay out the sheet while I put a pillow in a pillow case. "I'm really sorry these are so ratty. But they're clean I promise!"

I absolutely hated it when he came to get me. Every year it was a struggle to make sure everything looked clean. And even though everything was always clean all the time, it still looked like a mess with all the holes and wear that everything had gone through. It felt like it was all just a big comparison, because he sure as hell didn't have anything in his house that had holes or chips in it.

He gave me a look and shook his head. "Of course they're clean," he said. "This isn't a problem. I actually kind of like it. This place is very homey. Its a lot more comforting than our place. Why do you think I've volunteered to come get you these past two years?"

Before I could reply I heard a loud clattering noise from the kitchen. Both Madison and I vaulted over the couch and went straight for mum.

"It's alright, it's alright," she sniffled, pulling her apron up to her face. She turned away from us. "Elizabeth...please finish dinner. I'm going to...go take a quick shower."

Madison and I looked at each other before stepping away so she could hurry out of the room. Madison raised her eyebrows and asked, "Was she...crying?"

"Is everything alright?" James called.

"Yeah," Madison said. "She's just going to miss Elizabeth is all."

"Oh."

I sighed and took over for my mother. She had everything set out for the meal she was making for us tonight. We were having breakfast for dinner. Eggs, pancakes, and bacon. All that was really left after these eggs were done was to fry up the bacon. James insisted that he help me, seeing as he had some cooking lessons from his father.

"He wanted us to know how to cook conventionally, you know." James was clumsy in the kitchen but I figured the extra practice would be good for him. Normally he didn't show much interest in the muggle world. "He thinks it tastes better this way but personally I don't see much of a difference. Him and Aunt Hermione are a bit thick headed sometimes."

I shook my head at him and continued with the cooking. He danced around me, asking questions and grabbing the things I needed. He cleaned up any spills and wondered why I didn't just use magic to do it myself.

"I don't really use magic much around the house," I eventually told him. "Not unless I need to."

"Are you kidding me? As soon as I turned seventeen I used magic all the time. Even to do simple things like tie my shoes."

I shrugged. "Well your circumstances are different."

"That's true." He rubbed his chin. "But I would think that because our circumstances are so different you would want to use your magic even more. To be able to fix all of these things with magic would make everything so much better wouldn't it?"

"Sure. But it feels like cheating."

"_Cheating_," he scoffed. "Using a gift like that to make your life better is cheating? If anyone deserves to cheat at life it's you. You work too hard to not use magic at home now that you can."

I sighed and turned to him. "I know it seems silly James but that's how it is. It just doesn't feel right to me, using magic like that for things I could do normally. My mum doesn't like me using magic anyway, though she'd never admit it openly. Magic scares her."

"It does?" he asked incredulously.

"James stop bothering my sister and help me set the table," Madison called.

"On my way," he replied rushing to her aid. He relieved her of her pile of plates, forks, knives, spoons, glasses and other such accessories, carrying them for her while she set them out on the table.

We sat down to eat when mum came back out. It was a humble meal with just the four of us. There wasn't much on the table either save for the package of bacon, a few eggs, a pancake each and just enough butter, syrup and orange juice for the lot of us. But it was my last meal with mum and Madison for a while and I enjoyed every bit of it.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth wake up!"

I jerked awake to see Madison standing over me with her strawberry blonde hair sprawled wildly around her head like some sort of halo afro. She had a wide, scared look on her face. I jumped out of bed and grabbed my wand from under my mattress. "Jesus Madison what is it? Is everything okay?!"

"James is snoring!"

Immediately all of the adrenaline that had built up in my body drained out my ears. My intense grip on my wand slowly relaxed and my face fell. I glanced at my clock which was flashing 2:05 AM. "Seriously?"

"Just listen," she hissed.

We fell silent and suddenly I was bombarded with the sound of heavy snoring.

"Why couldn't you have just woken him up?!"

"I tried," she said exasperatedly. "But all he did was snort and roll over!"

I groaned and rubbed my eyes. "Alright well now I'm awake. What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know! You know him better than I do! Wake him up or something." She massaged her face hard and eyed my wand. She twirled her finger at it. "You could use a little magic to shut him up couldn't you?"

I spin my wand in my fingers. "I would if I knew I stop-that-prat-from-snoring charm. I suppose the silencing charm might work. Just...just let me try and wake him up first, okay?"

"Mom's asleep," she said eagerly.

"Right," I sighed itching my brow. "I just don't like using magic on people I suppose. Not unless I have to at least."

She sighed. "Well that's fine. Just try to wake him up then, please. I have to wake up early tomorrow to go school shopping with Kimberly."

We moved out into the sitting room where James was busy waking up the entire building. Madison looked at me with raised brows and gestured towards him. I nodded and moved towards him. He was tangled up in the blanket we gave him and one of his socks was laying on the ground. His arm was sprawled over the back of the couch, his mouth was hanging open and he was drooling on his pillow.

"Oh my god," I muttered. "James?"

He didn't respond.

"James!"

Again, no response. I furrowed my brow and looked to Madison who tossed her arms up as if to say 'I know I already tried'. All I wanted to do was go to bed. I hadn't had any time to pack before today and I had to wake up early to catch mum and Madison before they left for the day. I pushed his face and he snorted. "James." I pushed his shoulder. "James!" He snorted again and swung his arm over. I just managed to jump out of the way. He stopped snoring for a moment and adjusted himself on the couch.

"I'm going to have to use a silencing charm."

I went to stand up again but accidently knocked over a plastic glass. It clattered to the ground before I could catch it. James jumped to attention.

"What?!" Madison cried angrily. "You woke up at that! I hit you with a damned pillow!"

James looked around between us all and yawned. His expression was a little fuzzy. "Wha' was that?"

"A cup," I sighed setting my head in my hands. "Jesus James."

"Wha—?"

"You've been snoring non stop for the past two hours," Madison said marching into the room with her hands on her hips. "And I tried to wake you up for thirty minutes before I came and got her and all she did was knock over a cup!"

He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes before looking up at her. "I'm sorry."

She sighed and sat down next to me on the coffee table. "Don't worry about it you thick-headed prat." She smiled a little at him. "Just try not to snore, okay?"

He smiled back, a big, idiotic smile before falling back into his pillow and going right back to sleep. I looked to Madison who shrugged a little and headed back to our room.

The next morning we all said our goodbyes. Madison and mum woke me and James up early (this time she put an ice cube down his shirt) and sat us down to eat a quick bowl of cereal before they left. Mum gave me a big hug and instructed me to write her at least once a week and that I should try to have a little fun this year instead of working so hard. She left so I wouldn't see her crying. Madison came next with a dopey smile on her face. She had a little package in her hands. I glared at her before she dropped it in my hands, kissed my cheek and James' and ran out the door, waving her hand and yelling to write her often and send her candy.

I didn't want to open the package for fear of the cost of what was inside. It was a small thing but even the small things could be a whole lot.

James pestered me all the way to the bookstore. "Aren't you going to open it? I want to see what's inside!"

"Not now James. I don't want to open it yet!"

He kept an eye on the package the whole way home too. Once we dropped off the key at the flat we headed towards our usual apparition spot. It was the alley just next to the old flower shop. It was hardly ever populated by anyone, mostly because it was a drug dealing hotspot at night and no one wanted to be involved with that.

"Are you going to be apparating by yourself now?"

"No," I said quickly.

He looked down at me for a while before nodding his head and holding out his arm. I took it and sucked in a deep breath.

"Here we go!"

And suddenly all of that air was squeezed out of me. I did my best to recite a passage from my old astronomy textbook. By now I had it memorized backwards and forwards and used it whenever I had to apparate somewhere, to keep my mind off the unpleasantness. It only took half the passage to reach our destination and the rest to reorient myself.

"Bloody hell I hate that," James muttered, brushing himself off. "Well, we're here."

We had landed just at the base of the Moonlight Cliffs (named so as the Potters had bewitched the cliffs to glisten as if filled with diamonds under the light of the full moon) on the beach. The Potter Manor was located somewhere on the coast of the Cornwall province, though I had never bothered to ask where specifically. I always had a way to get there if ever I needed to. Besides you wouldn't even be able to find the place should you happen to be walking anywhere near the fifty hectare property. Harry had charmed the place into oblivion to make sure that no one besides those who were welcome could get in.

There were old castle ruins a few kilometers down the coast. The story goes that it used to be the home of a powerful necromancer, one who was truly able to raise the dead. James, Al, Lily, the Weasley kids (if they were around, which they mostly were) and I would go explore the remains all the way down to the cellar. Sometimes we'd find something challenging, like giant rats and occasionally a boggart. But the truly dangerous stuff was kept hidden behind a door in the cellar that had been so heavily charmed Harry had stated that Dumbledore himself couldn't have broken into it. We never lingered too long there because the place seemed a bit haunted and there were always strange noises coming from behind that door.

We headed up the cliffs, using the stone stairs Ginny had carved. We talked about what we figured the new Potions teacher would be like and classes we were taking.

"All of our letters arrived yesterday morning. Yours was among them as well. I've already looked over the results of all my classes. Mum was pretty upset about my score in Herbology but I'm glad I won't be having to take that this year. I hate that class. Nothing against Neville, but I just don't understand how that man can do it!"

"But you've met the requirements in everything else, right?"

He smiled proudly. "Abso-bloody-lutely! I'm glad I did too. Dad said that if I could get top grades this year he'd see what he could do about finding me a spot in the junior aurors. That is, if I can pass the training and whatnot but I don't really see much of a problem with that." No matter how much his arrogance made me want to punch him in the face he certainly spoke the truth. James was an exceptional wizard, even if he was a bit of a dunce. He had retained his father's luck if anything and had managed to skate through most of his schooling with his raw talent. Not that he had learned much of anything, but he certainly knew enough to get through training. I was excited for him though. To become an auror was a big deal. And it would provide him with the real world experience he needed to get over that big head of his. "What classes were you going to take this year Elizabeth?"

"Well, I have quite a bit on my plate really," I said rubbing the back of my neck.

"No surprise there."

I made a face at him. "This year I've decided to drop Transfiguration. I'm hoping that I passed the History of Magic course that I took over summer to free up space in my schedule. But other than that it's just the regular old Astronomy, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Charms and Ancient Runes classes. Though I did sign up for Earth Magic and Ancient Studies."

"You're an odd one," he sighed.

"What does that mean?"

He threw his hands into the air. "You always take such weird classes. I mean...Earth Magic? What even is that? Is it even a real class?"

"It's a self-study class that meets on the weekends; same goes with Ancient Studies." I said crossing my arms. "And I happen to find it extremely interesting. It's the study of the natural magic of the Earth thank you very much."

James laughed and patted me on the head. "You're one of the most interesting people I've ever met. Stay that way will you?"

We talked about the aurors and the Ministry of Magic all the way up to the manor.

It was an incredible red brick manor with an amazing unicorn fountain in the courtyard. Flowers were blooming everywhere and lovely tall trees framed the house. Vines held the house in place and added a very homey cottage feel to the enormous structure.

I felt so bad for being here and not at home.

"No one's home right now. Everyone went off to help the Weasley's make their journey here so its pretty empty. Go ahead on up to your room and make yourself comfortable. I'm going to go finish cleaning up the kitchen for mum." As I went to drag my chest upstairs he grabbed my arm and said, "And Elizabeth, do yourself a favor and use a little magic okay? You've worked enough this summer."

"Alright James," I sighed.

He smiled. "Good. If you need anything I'll be down here."

As he said, I bewitched my chest to float after me up the stairs. It felt good not having to carry it all the way up there, but I felt guilty after having done so. I set it down once I reached the third floor where my guest room was and carried it the rest of the way there.

The first thing I did as soon as I got there was to empty out the envelope I had been keeping all my muggle money in to exchange at Gringotts. I had been working hard for that money and counting it all throughout summer to make sure I had enough for my new books and the other supplies I needed. I had made a list of the exact cost of all the supplies that I would need. I went about recounting all of the money and the totals to make sure everything matched up. With what I had with me then I would have just enough to buy everything I desperately needed and something small for myself.

That reminded me of the gift Madison had given me. I pulled the small package out from my pocket and set it on top of the nightstand. I decided that I'd open it in the morning.

* * *

_A/N: Hello everyone! I've just realized the great mistake I've made! I didn't bother to introduce myself in the first chapter whatsoever and I apologize. But here I am now at the foot of chapter two, here to tell you that I plan to do great things with this story. I must say that I had quite a hard time figuring out what genre to put this story into. Mystery seemed like one of the best fits seeing as it says the word directly in the title. We'll see how well that goes as it is my first time writing anything of the sort. But expect lots of other things to go along with it as well like adventure and humor and all those other fuzzy things that make a story go round._

_I would appreciate it if you took the time to leave a helpful review._

_Anyway, have a wonderful morning/day/afternoon/evening and please stay tuned for chapter three!_

_- Chumett_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The Potters and the Weasleys were an extremely exciting bunch to be around. They were tough, intimidating, and powerful but at the same time two of the most loving families I had encountered in either worlds. I owed a lot to them, one of those things being my prowess in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry and Ron had taken it upon themselves to train their children to be able to defend themselves against opponents well above their skill level. As soon as I became a regular, Harry insisted that I learn the trade as well, seeing as he had dragged his friends along for the ride and if the same were to happen to me, he wanted me to be prepared.

That was when I knew I was in this until the end. There was no going back. I was an honorary Potter-Weasley.

Downstairs I could hear voices pouring in. It was perfect timing too, as I had just finished unpacking all of my things and relieving my feet from the confines of my boots. I raced down the stairs to meet them.

"Oh my goodness Elizabeth!" I was crushed in the arms of Rose Weasley. Most of her fiery red hair had made its way over my face and in my mouth. She squeezed me tightly. "Merlin I've missed you!"

"I've missed you too Rose," I laughed as I brushed her hair from my face and hugged her back. "I see you've grown out your hair!"

She backed away and blushed a little. "Sorry about that. It's gotten better though. It isn't hardly as frizzy as it used to be."

"I've noticed. You can really see the red like that, you know? It's terribly pretty."

"Alright, alright Rose it's my turn," Al said pushing her to the side with a grin. He took me up in a big hug. "How's it going Elizabeth?"

"Well I certainly can't complain," I said when he set me back down on the ground. "I'm excited to hear what classes you guys are going to be taking!"

I went through the line of Potters and Weasleys, greeting everyone that came along. They all had big smiles on their faces and seemed rather excited for the term to begin again; especially the parents. Molly Weasley was already going around to each child and requesting that they hurry up and try on their robes so she could see if they need mending or new pairs altogether. I did my best to avoid her until she was done.

Arthur Weasley had made a beeline to me as usual, particularly excited about a box of muggle artifacts he'd accumulated over the summer that he'd like me to help him identify. "I've found quite a bit of interesting things at the office. But what with Harry being so busy lately and Hermione constantly working I've had no one to confide in that won't laugh at me. Perhaps before you leave for school you'll sit down with me and go through some of these things?"

"Of course I will Arthur. It'll be fun," I said smiling at him. It was always interesting seeing what things he had picked up. It seemed a little silly to me at first, showing him all of these things that seemed so obvious. But after a while it got fun. He always had something interesting to say about whatever it was I was describing to him. We'd had long discussions about the muggle mail system and computers and even silly things like pencils. He always wondered why wizards didn't use the technologies that muggles did.

"Oh Arthur don't bother her with your silly toys," Molly said, coming up from behind him. She grabbed my face and kissed my cheek roughly. "How are you Elizabeth? Have you been eating well? How's your mother? Your sister? Let me look at you." She studied me heavily for a moment and tugged at my holey sweater. She pinched my arm, frowned and shook her head. "It's a good thing we're having a big dinner tonight young lady. You need to eat something."

Just then Ginny came gliding over. "Mum leave Elizabeth alone. She's been extremely busy all summer and she's probably just now getting the chance to take a breath and relax. Let's not put anymore responsibility on her shoulders."

"Responsibility?! Eating is a necessity!"

"I know, I know," she said putting her hands up defensively. "But I don't think you have to tell Elizabeth to eat."

Molly put her hands on her hips. "Well then I guess I'll just start cooking then. Is Harry home?"

"No," she said shaking her head a little. "And I don't expect him back anytime tonight. He's been rather busy lately so we'll just have to make tonight's dinner without him. Hopefully he'll be back sometime in the morning."

"Is something going on?" Molly asked in a low voice, leaning forward.

"I'm not sure. He hasn't really been able to talk to me these past few days he's so tired. We'll find out later. For now let's just focus on dinner and getting everyone settled in for the night." Molly nodded her head and rolled up her sleeves. She looked like a little boxer about to enter the ring as she hurried along to the kitchen to start dinner. Ginny turned to me with a smile. "You've got two letters from Hogwarts waiting for you sweetie. On the table in the den."

"Oh?" I said, trying to contain the impatience that had jumped to the surface.

She nodded her head. "Now if you'll excuse me I ought to help mum fix dinner." She gave me a quick hug and said, "It's good to see you Elizabeth," before dashing away.

I hurtled myself into the den in search of the letters. I was glad they had been left there as everyone had gathered in the kitchen and living room to discuss the new term and the shopping that had to be done before Thursday. Now I could open them in peace and not have anyone question me on my scores. I opened the lightest one first, hoping that it was the results of the course the Headmistress had allowed me to take over the summer. I held my breath as I unfolded the letter.

_Dear Elizabeth Leoncourt,_

_As per request Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry has allowed you to partake in a trial of independent study courses taken over the summer. Your results for History of Magic are listed below._

My cheeks swelled with air as I raked my eyes nervously over the next few lines.

_Upon completion of your Placement Exam you have received an Exceeds Expectations [E]. An Exceeds Expectations [E] or above is required to test out of this class._

I let out a deep breath and a large smile grew on my face. I had done it! All that work had paid off! I didn't even bother to read the rest. I set that letter down and moved on to the thicker packet. My O.W.L scores. Oh how dreadful that had been. All summer I had been awaiting these scores nervously and now I didn't really know if I wanted to look them over at all.

_Just do it now_, I thought to myself. _The longer you wait the sicker you'll feel_.

I shook my head at myself and tore into the paper viciously. If I had to do it I might as well let my frustration out in the process. My book list fell to the floor but I didn't bother picking it up just then. I was scanning over the list of scores with hard eyes. An Outstanding in Astronomy, an Acceptable in Potions, an Exceeds Expectations in Defense Against the Dark Arts, an Acceptable in Herbology, an Acceptable in Charms and an Outstanding in Ancient Runes. I let out a deep breath. Everything seemed to be in order.

I stooped down to pick up my book list but didn't bother to look at it. I already knew everything I would need for the new term. I put everything back into the folder, including the summer work letter, and tucked it under my arm. Before anyone could stop me in the hall I raced up the stairs to store it safely in my trunk.

As I came back down I saw a new group had just arrived.

"Elizabeth? Is that you?" Before I can make out the person two soft hands are on my face and I feel them kiss each cheek once before hugging me lightly.

"Louis!" I said a tad breathlessly. He always had that effect on people. That boy was far too pretty for his own good.

He laughed. "At your service my dear!"

Dominique and Victoire came next, each giving me a kiss on the cheek and commenting on how pretty I had become. Quite a compliment coming from them really. Bill and Fleur each said hello before passing into the kitchen to greet everyone else.

Louis insisted that I take his arm as he made his grand entrance. "Don't mind Dominique if she gives you some trouble. She broke up with her girlfriend recently and has been a little low," he whispered to me as we walked along. "But don't worry. She'll be out of here before Thursday what with being a healer and all. Did I tell you? She got the job! It was so magnificent. And here I am struggling to scrape by!"

"Don't lie to yourself Louis you're a top student," I said giving him a look. "You could be anything you wanted to be!"

"I was thinking something particularly glamorous. Maybe a journalist, traveling the world and getting the inside scoop. Or perhaps a cursebreaker. Maybe I'll join the magic circus!"

"Why don't you do it all?" I shrugged.

His eyes lit up. "You know you have the most wonderful ideas!" He let go of my arm as soon as we got into the living room and dashed in to greet his family. Out of everyone he was probably the most interesting of them all. All the things he wanted to do and see. He was so filled with wanderlust it wasn't even funny. Everything about him screamed adventure and new things. The way he glided through life without a care made me so jealous.

The next ones to arrive were George and his family. They all clambered in loudly, laughing and making jokes. As she came in Roxanne gave me a quick punch in the arm and said, "Hey there string bean how's it going?"

I laughed a little and rubbed my arm. "A little better now that you're here."

Teddy finally showed up and the guest list was all checked off.

"Alright kids," Molly called from the kitchen. "That table better be set by the time we're finished cooking!"

Louis smiled. "I'll start the timer!" All of the kids rushed to attention, including Victoire and Teddy. They awaited Louis' "Go!" before springing to action. Incantations were cast, charms shouted into the air and laughter spilled out the doors. Plates and cups and napkins went flying around the room as they raced to beat their quickest time. George, Bill, Fleur and the others all watched happily as the children finished their task as quickly as they could.

When the last fork went down Louis jumped up and shouted, "Forty-five seconds! That's a new record!"

The room erupted in cheering and everyone danced around.

_What a great family to be apart of_, I thought to myself happily.

* * *

_A/N: Hey there! Here's chapter three! Enjoy and review please!_

_- Chumett_


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day I didn't wake up until after everyone had eaten breakfast and the sun was hanging high in the sky. It was the first time I had slept in in months and it felt amazing. I laid there, staring at the ceiling for quite some time, letting the warm white light pour through the window and onto my face.

Someday I was going to have a beautiful house like this in the country.

I rolled out of bed feeling refreshed and slid into my jeans and a fresh sweater. It was likely that most everyone was outside around the quidditch pitch and the garden. I tucked my wand into my boot and hurried down the stairs towards the back door.

"Elizabeth."

I skidded to a halt in kitchen to see Harry standing near the kettle, still in his pajamas, looking as though he needed sleep just as much as I had, if not more.

"Mr. Potter," I said a little surprised.

He dropped a sugar cube in his tea and rubbed his eyes. "Good morning," he yawned. He lowered his hand and glanced out the window. "Or rather afternoon I suppose." He shook his head a little and turned back to me. "I've got something for you."

He gestured for me to follow him and then took up his tea and headed back towards the west wing of the house where his office was.

"Who's it from?" I asked a little shocked. All of my things from Hogwarts had already arrived. There wasn't anything else I was expecting that might come to me by Harry Potter.

"I think you ought to just see for yourself," he said as we came to the door. He touched the handle and muttered something under his breath. There was a faint clicking sound and he opened up the door. Inside, the room was cluttered with piles of books and files stacked in the corners and crumpled up papers strewn about everywhere. Wanted posters and other news clippings covered the walls. A large map of England was plastered over the fireplace.

Harry set down his cup on the only bare corner of the desk and went to searching through the pile of files that were still tied up without any creases or ware. Probably from a fresh case. He lifted them up and pulled out a black envelope. My stomach lurched. Black didn't seem like the type of color you'd send a postcard in. But Harry had a smile on his face as he handed it over to me, so I was inclined to believe that no one I knew had died. "I was approached by Morgana Rose. She asked me to give this to you in the elevator."

"Morgana Rose?" I gasped looking down at the silver seal. It was a large M with an open eye set in the middle. The seal of the Department of Mysteries. I looked up at him with wide eyes. "What is it?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Morgana is a mysterious woman. I'd open it and find out if I were you," he said as he strode out the door. "Make sure to shut the door when you're done in here."

I nodded passively as I stared down at the envelope. I remember discussing my interest in the Department of Mysteries with Harry several times before. After all, he was the only person I knew who had actually been inside of it. And being the Head Auror he was in direct contact with Morgana on several occasions. But even he himself had made it clear that his knowledge on the subject was limited, which meant that this could be anything. I didn't want to get my hopes up too high for fear of disappointment.

My hands shook as I took up a letter opener and broke the seal. Did I even want to read it? What if I had broken some unspoken wizarding law? Were there even laws like that? They would have told me wouldn't they have? I'm a muggle born I certainly couldn't have known everything! My resolve was slowly slipping away. This letter could be a death sentence.

But if it was, what had I done wrong? Oh, the curiosity ripped at my very being. I wouldn't have been surprised to find myself sweating. Something so uncertain couldn't be left that way. I had to see what was inside. Someday, my curiosity was going to be the death of me.

I unfolded the letter to find a few lines of elegant silver script:

_Dear Elizabeth Leoncourt,_

_We've been watching you. Please don't disappoint us._

_Morgana Rose_

There was a soft whispering noise and moments later the letter fell apart in my hands, slipping through my fingers in the form of a fine black powder. I stood there for a long moment, completely shocked. The Head of the Department of Mysteries said that they'd been watching me. I didn't understand. My breaking of an unspoken wizarding law was still on the table, but I didn't recall having done anything too upsetting and my grades weren't good enough to warrant their interest.

I stumbled out of Harry's office and shakily closed the door behind me. He had disappeared somewhere so I was left to head outside where everyone else was, racking my brains for some sort of solution to the statement in the letter. There was no way to be sure seeing as they were so, well, mysterious.

But it couldn't have been about breaking any laws, whether they belonged to the Ministry as a whole or not. They wouldn't have said 'don't disappoint us' if I had done something wrong, would they have? And they wouldn't be watching me unless they had some possible use of me.

Were they looking to recruit me?

I about had a heart attack right there. I had contemplated the magnificence of being a part of something like the Department of Mysteries but I had never actually thought something like that to be possible. I was no genius and I certainly didn't have the most complex skill sets. And even if they were looking at me as a potential recruit, I had contemplated the harsh realities of it as well. It was a scary thought to be apart of something I wasn't entirely sure about. But sometimes I felt like it didn't matter.

"What are you staring at Elizabeth?" I looked up, surprised to see Roxanne hovering inches above me on her broom with one brow raised. In my daze I must have wandered into the garden. She laughed at the astonished look on my face and said, "Stop spacing out and join the party!"

Most everyone was hanging around near the quidditch pitch watching the game in progress. Even Ron Weasley was home and enjoying a nap in the shade of the tree. I took a seat next to Rose who was working on an extra credit essay. By the looks of things it had already begun to stretch the limits of sanity. She had a stack of parchment sitting on either side of her; one pile was blank and the other filled with her tiny scribbles. I glanced over her shoulder. The essay seemed to be for her Muggle Studies class.

"That's quite the essay you have going there," I said eyeing her stack of written parchment. I needed to get my mind off of this predicament.

She glanced over at me and muttered, "You have no idea. " She set down her quill and stretched her arms out in front of her. "I was up all night last night doing this."

"You're such a procrastinator," I said rolling my eyes. "I don't even know how you can do this to yourself and still maintain those stellar scores."

"I'm just really good at cheating," she sighed with a shrug.

I snorted. "Oh-kay."

"Okay maybe I've never cheated ever," she said returning to her essay. I couldn't help but think why the Department had contacted me when there were people like Rose around. Even if she waited until the night before she could crank out a ten page essay on practically any topic and still wake up the next morning at five o'clock.

"Yeah," I said absently.

_Please don't disappoint us._

.

.

"Try not to stay up too late guys. We're heading to Diagon Alley in the morning," Ginny said before she disappeared up the stairs. All the cousins had gathered in the living room to discuss their plans and go over their scores and classes for the next year. Fred, James and Louis were all discussing their plans for the end of their school year.

"Well I'll be off to Auror training as soon as school is finished," James proudly announced.

"What a surprise," Fred said rolling his eyes.

James laughed a little. "I know, I know. But it's all I'm good for."

"I for one think you'll make an excellent auror James," Lily said. "Once you pull that giant head of yours out of your arse!"

Everyone erupted in laughter. That is until Molly came storming down the stairs, threatening to starve them for a week. "Except for you Elizabeth dear," she added with a smile before stomping back up. After that everyone tried to remain a little quieter.

"Then how about you, Fred?" Roxanne asked. "You don't really talk about your plans."

"Because I don't have any," he shrugged.

"Actually," Louis interjected. "My dear Fred and I have decided to take a little time to travel the world and such before we really settle into anything. Can't you imagine it? Two extremely attractive bachelors scouring the globe for the perfect spells, perfect food and perfect women! What a dream!"

Fred smirked and crossed his arms. "This guys got it all figured out. I'm just along for the ride." He sighed and leaned back into the couch. "Besides, dad is going to want me to start working at the shop eventually. So I'll just be riding in the passengers seat until I'm called home." Roxanne rested her arm on her brother's knee and set her head in the crook of her elbow.

"And what about all of you sixth years? You've got the luxury of being oblivious to the troubles of adulthood but you've got to have something in mind for after school is over," James said.

One by one everyone spilled their dreams. They were all so easy to talk to and they never judged one another. Sure they joked when Al said he was thinking about being a cursebreaker but it was all in good heart. They were all so close and so easy to get along with. I felt myself growing more relaxed every day I spent with them.

"And how about you Elizabeth?"

"Yeah! What're your plans?"

My stomach dropped at the thought of the letter from the Department of Mysteries. It was probably best not to mention it. "Oh, you know, anything that pays enough to buy my family a real home."

"Well sure," Al said leaning forward. "But what do you want to do?"

"I'm not really sure," I shrugged.

Rose smacked my arm. "Come off it Elizabeth!" She leaned over my head and wrapped her arms around my neck. "You've always got everything figured out. I can't imagine you not having an idea of what you want to do in the future."

"You've got to at least have a specific area you'd like to go into," Al chimed in.

"Don't even pretend you haven't thought about it string bean," Roxanne sniggered.

I laughed a little and scratched my chin. "Well I suppose I'd really like to go into something that has to do with Astronomy."

"How romantic," Louis said.

Fred snorted.

.

.

I couldn't fall asleep that night. My mind was muddled with uneasy thoughts about school, life, and the black letter. It all seemed so sudden. And there I was with the blunt realization that my life was really about to start. I would join the adult world in little over two years and start making a name for myself. A new name in the wizarding world that had never been seen before. Could I really do it?

And would I do it in the Department of Mysteries?

I rolled over in my bed and buried my face in my pillow. _Whatever divine entity controls this life, please help me get through this._

I flopped back over onto my back and stared up at the ceiling. On the nightstand, the brown paper of my sister's gift rustled a little in the wind coming from the open window. I sat up on my arm and reached for it.

"If you've spent too much money on me Madison I'm going to kill you," I muttered to myself as I pulled at the piece of tape securing the wrapping in place.

It came undone like a napkin to reveal a small black and gold carving of a bear. My breath caught in my throat as I turned it over in my hand. It was a small little thing, depicted standing on its hind legs. But it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

The tears that threatened to expose my calm demeanor spilled over and I laughed a little to myself.

"You bastard," I whispered wiping them away.

* * *

_A/N: Hey there everybody. I hope you're enjoying this so far! I know it might be a little slow but it'll pick up eventually. _

_I'd appreciate it if you left a review telling me if you like it and how I could make improvements!_

_- Chumett_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Alright, alright! Everyone pair up and head out! Remember, get back to the Leaky Cauldron by one o'clock," Hermione called over the subtle roar of excited family members.

Harry stood behind her with his arms crossed and a grim look on his face. "And _be careful_."

I turned to survey the large area of shops. Everything about Diagon Alley made me so excited. It was one of the best things about being a witch and it never got old. One of my favorite things were the peddlers in the streets. Sure, some of them were sketchy, but there were a few gems to be found if you had a keen eye. There was a particular stall that had caught my attention. One quite a ways away off; near the Owl Emporium. It was a deep purple color and the things it carried looked rather interesting from where I was standing.

Al and Rose sauntered up to me with big smiles. "Ready to head out then?"

I tucked my pouch of gold into my pocket and clutched tightly at my list. "Yeah I'm ready."

"Albus." The three of us turned to see Harry standing with his arms crossed just behind us. His generally casual demeanor had been replaced with heavy brows and a serious look in his eyes. He nodded towards Al and said, "I don't want the three of you going into Knockturn Alley do you understand? And if I find out you have you'll all be in a lot of trouble."

Al scratched the back of his neck and said, "Well sure dad. We weren't planning on it for the rest of our lives. Not after last time."

He gave us a gruff nod before joining the pack of adults who strode happily into the Leaky Cauldron. I watched as he made his way straight to Ron, who stopped his conversation with Hermione and turned to him. He and Harry dropped off from the group and started walking in the opposite direction, huddled close together and looking very serious.

"Elizabeth are you coming or not?"

I fell out of my daze and spun around to see Rose and Al halfway across Diagon Alley, waiting for me with hands on their hips.

"Yeah," I called after them. I glanced towards the purple stall and sighed a little.

Rose caught my arm as I jogged up and smiled widely at me. "Man oh man is it good to see you. I know you've been here for a few days but I really like this. Just the three of us. It makes me feel nostalgic."

"I feel like we're going to get into some trouble whenever I'm around you guys," Al laughed.

"Shut up Al," Rose said punching him in the arm. "You're the one that has to go around being stupid!"

Al gave her a look. "Yeah, but you're the one that just goes along with it. At least I know what I'm getting in to. So who's stupider?"

They bickered like that all the way to Madam Malkin's. I followed along, throwing in a 'yes' or an 'uh-huh' whenever I was called upon for aid. My mind was somewhere else entirely, however. I was watching everyone walk by. It was, perhaps, the thing I looked forward to the most. Seeing all the different types of wizards and witches gathered into one street, laughing and talking to each other in their ridiculous attire was my favorite part of shopping here. Among all the normaler witches and wizards there were a few strange sights. Every year there was always something new to look for. Like the witch across the way, dressed in her magenta robes with feathered shoulders and that silly hat on. It had a yellow tail that went all the way down her back. Or that wizard staring into the sweets shop with his long red beard and dirty brown robes. I could see leaves tangled into his hair. And the most exciting thing about it all was that no one really seemed to care. It was such a natural thing to see so many different people all in one place. Some would certainly whisper about the weirder ones or go home and laugh, but it was nothing like the muggle world.

It was one of the reasons that I was so glad to be a witch.

Al rushed through Madam Malkins, not wanting to stay long because of the way she fawned all over him, telling stories about Harry and how she was so happy that his children were still shopping with her. It made him incredibly embarrassed and he pretended like he hated it. But Rose and I knew how much it made his ego grow when people watched eagerly as Harry Potter's son got measured for new robes.

"Do you need anything Elizabeth?" he asked gruffly as soon as he had purchased his new school robes.

I shook my head no. "My robes still fit and are still hole free."

He sneered playfully at me and pushed open the door for the two of us.

"Let's go to the Quidditch shop, shall we? I need new gloves and you could use a servicing kit for your broom," Rose said tugging on his sleeve.

"Right, right," he muttered.

"That's perfect. The stationery shop and Flourish and Blotts is right next door."

"What are we if we're not efficient," Rose sighed.

Al ran his hands through his hair and sniffled. "You know, I was also thinking that if we have time today I'd like to go down and get a haircut." He looked to us. "What do you think?"

I shrugged. "I guess it would honestly depend on what you had in mind."

"Yeah. With your hair its hard to tell what would look good and what wouldn't," Rose said with a nod. He thought for a moment as we approached the store.

"I was thinking of one of those fancy undercuts. Teddy's hair looks pretty nice like that and I thought—" He fell completely silent as he stepped inside and looked off into the corner with his eyes narrowed. Rose and I looked at each other, confused, before turning to follow his glare. He snorted and muttered, "Well never mind that idea. Dammit."

I saw exactly why he had given up on a new haircut. Standing near the shin guards was a rather tall blonde with the sides of his head tapered and a mess of hair strewn casually about the top. He pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced towards Al who was glaring in his direction.

"Why does that ruddy bastard have to have that haircut?" he hissed.

"Stop it Al," I whispered, elbowing him in the side. "And would you quit glaring like that? You look like an arse."

He ran his hand through his hair again and turned away from Scorpius. "I guess I'm stuck like this then. I'll just get a trim. I hope he chokes on toads."

Rose rolled her eyes at me and dragged me over towards the uniform section, just adjacent to where Scorpius was standing. He watched us from the corner of his eyes for a moment before turning to Al who had taken to the broom section of the store, walking around with his arms crossed and muttering to himself. Scorpius set down whatever it was that he was holding and left.

"I'm looking for a good deal Elizabeth. Something that is going to be better than what I've got but won't clear me out. I can't spend more than seven galleons or I won't be able to get those new books I wanted."

"Oh?" I said turning towards her. "Well I can't say I know much about Quidditch supplies but if you tell me what you're looking at I'm sure I can help you figure something out."

We spent quite a bit of time in there. Rose went back and forth between several pairs of gloves before settling on two. It was hard to tell which of them was going to be the better deal because I had absolutely no knowledge of Quidditch or its supplies. We went over all the information for both of them and then compared the prices. One was cheaper than the other by two galleons but the other seemed a lot more flexible and sturdy.

"I don't know," I said thoughtfully. "I mean, this one is less money but I'm pretty sure the quality is going to reflect that as well. It seems good enough, like it would stay faithful for the season without too many problems; but as far as the other one goes, it's only two galleons more and it'd probably last you a lot longer than a season."

_Only two galleons_, I thought to myself. What a strange phrase. _Only_.

"You're right. And I mean, I'll still have some left over for at least one of the books I wanted. I think I'll just go ahead and get this one then."

After that we went next door to the stationary shop to refill our supplies of parchment and ink. Rose ended up caving in once again and bought a fancy new quill with a peacock feather on it. "For writing letters," she insisted when Al gave her a funny look.

At Flourish and Blotts' we went through our list of books and bought everything we needed. At the last minute I realized that I had decided against taking Transfiguration this year and ended up having some extra coins in my pocket because of it. After some thinking and some friendly suggestions from Al and Rose I decided to spend the rest of the money on myself. Just for something small.

"Let's head to the sweets shop, shall we?" Al suggested.

"Please," Rose said. "I've been craving something sweet all morning."

"I don't care. So long as afterwards its okay that we go to that purple stall just down the way," I said gesturing towards the peddler that had caught my eye this morning. It didn't show outwardly, but I was extremely excited to get there. This morning I had stared at it as if it were a dream, knowing I wouldn't have anything left over to purchase any of their wares. But now it was a different story.

"Sure," Al shrugged.

"Oh, I'm so excited," Rose said waving her hands at her sides. "They've got a new ice cream flavor that I want to try. It's supposed to change flavors depending on the person who tastes it! And everyone has a different flavor."

"Well that sounds pretty cool. I might have to try that."

"So it's like putting a flavor to your personality then?" I asked.

She pushed into the sweets shop and nodded her head enthusiastically, pulling the two of us towards the ice cream counter and pointing to a rather boring looking bin filled with white ice cream. "Yes! It's supposed to be really good so long as your personality is. I heard that when Ambrosine tried it, she tasted fire."

"What does fire even taste like?" I asked incredulously.

"I'm not really sure," she shrugged. "But apparently it didn't feel to good."

A portly wizard appeared in front of us, twirling his mustache and asked, "Can I get you three anything?"

"I'll have a medium Anything flavor, please."

"Same for me," Al said.

The man looked to me but I shook my head and said, "I'm fine." Rose gave me a look but didn't say anything.

"Alright, kiddos. But I gotta tell you, there's no refund if you don't like the flavor you get."

"That's fine," Rose said waving her hand passively.

Her and Al collected their treat and then moved along to scout out the rest of the store for anything sweet to take home.

"So what's it taste like?" I asked.

Rose took a bite and mulled over the flavor for a little. "Hmm, it's actually pretty citrusy. I like it. And I think that's kind of a good thing, don't you? I mean citrus is never bad."

"Mine reminds me of nuts and dark chocolate," Al said as he licked the spoon. "It isn't too bad. Here have a bite, Elizabeth. Tell us what it tastes like."

He handed me a spoonful and I took it tentatively. I'm wasn't exactly sure what to expect but I was curious enough to taste it. At first there wasn't much. Just the faint taste of something I didn't really recognize. It wasn't a bad taste but it certainly wasn't strong. It got a little more powerful the more I let it sit.

"So?"

"I'm not really sure how to describe it," I shrugged. There was something very light and sweet about it but I couldn't exactly pinpoint it. "It kind of reminds me of a faint white light in a dark place. If that makes any sense."

Al furrowed his brow. "No. No it doesn't."

"Yeah that's pretty surreal even for you," Rose added shaking her head. "Can't you just name a food it reminds you of or something?"

"Well it doesn't taste like any food I've ever had."

Al took back his spoon and continued to eat. After a while it got a little too strong for him so he threw it away and took to searching for something else. Rose strode around the store, piling candy bars and other sweets into my arms as she prepared her stash for the year. She grabbed licorice wands, sour cauldrons, and every other type of flavored thing she found interesting.

After that was over we headed out towards the purple stall. Al and Rose talked about Quidditch and whether or not James would make them try out again for the team. As we approached the stall its contents started to become much clearer to me. An assortment of items lay on the carpeted shelves or hung every which way on different racks and corners. A big sign was draped over the edge saying _Quirky Quarner_. A short, young witch stood next to the cart with her hands on her hips in a brave stance and a bright smile on her face.

"Hello there," she said when I stopped to look at her inventory. There were books and pretty necklaces and crystals and moving globes. "Can I interest you in anything? We're having a sale right now so everything you see here is half off."

"Really? That's perfect!" My excitement had doubled as I took my time evaluating each and every piece I saw.

"Yes ma'am. Most of these things were donated by old collectors or people who thought they were junk. Some was recovered from the muggle world. And a few select pieces I found myself while treasure hunting. There aren't many because I find myself growing attached to them and tend to keep them to myself. I'm a bit of a hoarder. But a lot of the jewelry you see here is probably the result of my poking around ancient chambers and burial grounds. All of them are free of curses and hexes."

One particular item had caught my eye. "And what are those?" I asked, gesturing to a pair of leather goggles that had several different lense attachments and some funny looking knobs on the sides. They were old and worn looking.

"Oh these," she said picking them up off of the carpet. "These were donated by an old friend of mine. They're a pair of telescope goggles. You can magnify, label, and track stars and planets among other things. The only problem is that there was a whole instruction book for them, but he lost it so they're pretty much useless unless you spend hours playing with them. Apparently they were rather expensive but they're worn and it'd be hard to operate without the manual so they've pretty much lost most of their value. I'd give them to you for—let's say seven galleons?"

I frowned. I probably should have expected that. Even broken antique things seemed to be rather expensive. "Well, I only have two galleons and a few sickles. Have you got anything interesting for that?"

"Well sure. A few small things. I've got…"

But I wasn't particularly listening. I was just thinking disappointedly as I stared at those goggles. Even if they weren't in perfect working condition they were still the most interesting thing I had come across all day. And I really _really_ wanted them! I could probably spend hours just sitting outside using them. I could always ask to borrow the money from Al, but I really didn't fancy being in debt for a while. And there really wasn't a way for me to come back and get them later. She was probably a travelling merchant by the sounds of it and besides, those would probably be gone by the time I had enough spare money and time to come back.

"Hey kid."

I looked up at her with a dreamy "hmm?"

"Look, I can see you really have an eye for those things. I'll make you a deal. You give me your two galleons and take the rest of that money and run up to the sweet shop and buy me some chocolate with rest and you can have 'em. Your friends can wait here to make sure I don't make a run for it," she said with a smile.

"Really?" I gasped. "Are...are you sure?"

"Yeah kid," she laughed tugging at her hair. "Just, uh, don't tell anyone I said that."

"Absolutely!" I dashed off without a word to Rose and Al and made my way straight for the sweets store. I handed all of the extra money to the man from before and asked for all the chocolate I could get with that. He gave me a funny look but obliged. I rushed out before he could even say good day.

Everyone was still standing exactly where I had left them. I exchanged money and sweets with the vendor and she handed me the battered goggles. I thanked her profusely before Al and Rose dragged me away from the scene because we were late getting back to the Leaky Cauldron.

* * *

_A/N: Hello there. It probably seems like a while since I've updated considering the speed I used to pop these out at. But I assure you I'm still working on them. School and life have just caught up to me so updates will probably be a lot less often from now on. (Think two or three chapters every weekend)_

_Anyway thanks for reading! Please review!_

_- Chumett_


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

We had returned to the Leaky Cauldron five minutes late. Harry chewed us out for quite some time before Ginny stepped in and turned his attention away. It was odd seeing him so worked up about something so trivial. Even James had stepped in to comment about how I was an adult now and I ought to be treated as such. He argued that I was fully capable of watching over Rose and Al and that in any case the three of us could handle ourselves if worse came to worse. Besides, we were in Diagon Alley. Nothing bad could possibly have happened to us there.

He apologized shortly afterwards and blamed it on being stressed out from work.

It was September first and the Potter house was abuzz with activity. Everyone was dashing around to make final preparations for school. A car had been sent for to take us all to the train station. It was supposed to arrive at any moment and Al still couldn't find his socks.

I had finished packing the night before and my trunk was stashed neatly by the door. I had managed to stuff everything in there as tightly as I possibly could so that all of my things (minus my cauldron, which Al said he would take for me) fit. All morning I had been helping Molly make breakfast for everyone while assisting with packing everyone else's things.

"Sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you darling," Molly exclaimed as we finally got to sit down and eat some for ourselves. I had to eat quickly as the cars had just arrived, but it was nice to get a chance to pretend like I didn't have to worry about school.

"You'd get along fine," I said smiling at her. "But it was lovely seeing you again."

She got up and hugged me, sniffling a little as she got a tad emotional. She walked us all to the door and waved as we pulled away. I watched the manor disappear with a heavy heart.

"You can always come back for Christmas, you know?" Ginny commented when she saw the look on my face.

I smiled a little at her. "Oh, I know." I rested my arm on the car door and set my head in my hand. "But I couldn't do that to my family. It wouldn't be fair."

_None of this is fair_, I had thought to myself guiltily.

On the train I spent most of my time making a list of things I had to do. I would have to talk to the Headmistress again about any work she needed done. Professor Sinistra usually had things for me to do as well along with Hagrid. There was also a matter of reconnecting with the students who often asked me for help with their Astrology and Ancient Runes homework. As a group they'd generally each pitch in a sickle at the end of the night and I'd make ten for one hour of studying. It wasn't a bad deal and I liked helping them. It also helped me get better at the trade.

"Oi! Elizabeth! We aren't even at school yet and you're already hard at work," Al said knocking into me.

"Well," I said giving him a look. "Some of us have things to do with their lives."

He leaned in close with pinched brows and said, "Yeah, like have fun every once in a while."

I sighed and pushed him away. "Yeah, yeah Al. I've already had my fun. I should have done this a few days ago now let me finish so I don't have to stay up late tonight."

He grumbled to himself for a little while but eventually joined back in with his siblings and their loud chatter about Hogsmeade and their plans for the year and which boy or girl they fancied. James had disappeared to go hang out with his friends and Rose had gotten to whispering to me about one of them while I finished up my list.

"He's the taller one. Maverick? He's the Keeper on the Quidditch team and he's got an incredible arse. You should definitely check it out sometime it's worth it," she murmured.

"Oh really?" I laughed as I marked down everyone that had been a part of my little study group last year. I'd have to find them either tonight or tomorrow and see if they were still going to participate. "And I'm assuming you've spoken to him?"

She blushed a little at my question. "Well, yeah. Just a few times during practices and stuff. And then for a little while when he came over during the summer. He's got an amazing jawline. Did I tell you that already?"

"Definitely not. I would have remembered."

"Oh Merlin," she sighed sitting back in her seat. "He's perfect."

I couldn't help but laugh a laugh a little. She gave me a sharp jab in the ribs before joining in herself. "You know," I said waving my quill at her. "He is James' friend still. I mean, I doubt James would have a problem with it in the first place, but that could start of a bit weird, so you ought to handle it carefully."

"You're right." She crossed her arms and tilted her head up, looking to the ceiling. "And I think you're right about James too. I'm not too worried about him. The only thing I'm worried about is the competition that's lined up in front of me. I mean I didn't really even start to like him until this summer and that's when I realized how much every other girl liked him."

"That's very true. Even Pepper Lang likes to talk about him sometimes."

She gave a little 'humph' and turned away. "I have to admit that's a little troubling. Not only is she extremely smart, stunningly gorgeous, and the star player of the Ravenclaw team...she's also older than I am! That's sort of an explosive combination in a woman."

"Yes well she may be stunningly gorgeous but you're naturally beautiful. Some blokes like gorgeous some like beautiful. It's all a matter of perspective. Maybe Maverick sees you a little differently than you think he does. You'll never know unless you try."

"You know, when words come out of your mouth they always give me a sense of confused satisfaction. I think that made me feel better but I'm not sure," she said shaking her head at me.

I shrugged a little. "Well, that's how it is I suppose. There are no certainties in life."

"See? There you go again."

.

.

We'd changed into our robes minutes before the train pulled into the station. I had noticed every year that more and more people had begun to stare at us. They were mostly first and second years who still admired how cool the older students were. Not to mention the fact that the Potter and Weasley family were practically famous on campus. It just seemed odd to be a part of it.

Rose and I snagged a carriage and I listened to her talk about Maverick some more. She seemed extremely optimistic about the whole situation but she was masking some fears that seemed rather apparent every time she asked me about Pepper. "I don't know. She seems much cooler than me doesn't she? I'm not nearly as good of a Chaser as she is. She even looks flawless when she plays the game. Have you seen her? Well, of course you have. You're in the same house. But I mean...come on. That's completely unfair."

For a while I played along and just nodded my head. But after the fifteenth mention of her I started to get a little agitated.

"Look Rose, you obviously are jealous of her. And you clearly want a very specific answer from me. But I can't give it to you. Even if I did know more about her I couldn't. You can't let her sway you in any of your advancements because, to put it plainly, she doesn't really matter a whole lot. All you need to worry about is you and Maverick. And if you just do that this whole thing is going to be much, much easier on you. Like I said, you never know what's going through his head. And if he doesn't share your feelings that doesn't mean that by default he's going to like her. And even if he did it won't matter to you in a year. Just take it one step at a time okay? And stop worrying about how perfect her hair looks after a Quidditch match."

She was silent for a minute before looking down at her feet and saying, "Yeah you're right. It's just hard I guess."

"Well of course it is!" I gave her an encouraging smile. "It will be extremely difficult. But don't let that stop you Rose. You never have before. Just remember that your value is based off of you alone and not someone else."

"You're so insightful," she said grudgingly.

"It's a curse really."

She snickered. "So how's your family doing this year?"

"Oh, um—" My stomach dropped. I didn't want to admit to her that my mother had been laid off of her second job. I didn't want anyone to know because I didn't want their pity. She would offer to give me money and I couldn't have her doing that. There was nothing that my mother and I couldn't fix together, and while she was busy searching for something to fill that income slot I would just have to work a little harder to help make up for the lost money. But Rose, nor any of her family, could ever find out about it. I slapped on a fake smile. "Everything is really good. Madison took over my position at the bookstore and I think she also started volunteering at the local girls' center as well."

Rose nodded, satisfied. "Perfect. You know I'd really like to see more of her. She seems just as knowledgeable as you."

"Probably more. She doesn't have to pretend," I joked. But it was true.

"I wouldn't be surprised."

Rose laughed.

Once we made it up to the school we headed into the Great Hall together and then parted ways with promises to meet up for breakfast in the morning. I headed towards the Ravenclaw table while she claimed her throne among the Gryffindors.

I sat with Peonie Urtha and her boyfriend Festus Crowley. They regularly came to my study sessions and were all around nice people. We often sat together during classes and had a generally good time together.

"So how was your summer Elizabeth?" Peonie asked when she saw me approaching.

"Probably not as exciting as yours," I said taking a seat opposite to her. "Did you ever get to go along with your dad to Japan?"

She immediately lit up and started gushing about her trip. Festus interjected a few times to correct some of her exaggerations which she ignored altogether. They were a fun, normal bunch to hang around and they offered me a welcome break from the showiness of the Potters. And I enjoyed listening to Peonie talk about her trips. She always had such a colorful way of describing things.

"You probably would have really loved it, Elizabeth. The Japanese wizards are so cool. They're really into divination and the stars and things like that. At least the ones that I met," she concluded.

Festus looked at me with raised brows. "Speaking of stars and divination, are you still planning on keeping up with that study group of yours? Because thanks to you I actually got an E in Astrology."

"Yeah," Peonie chimed in. "Those are really helpful. Please tell me you're still doing it!"

"Of course I am. I was actually just going to ask if you guys were still interested."

"Hell yes," Festus smiled.

I pulled out my list (Festus gave a snort and muttered 'You and your damned lists') and checked off their names. "Great. We'll probably still meet in the library then on Friday during breaks. If it changes I'll make sure to let you know by the end of the week."

"That sounds perfect."

Just then the doors to the Great Hall opened and Professor Longbottom came strolling in with the first years in tow. Peonie stopped talking and watched him walk up, garnering a strict glare from Festus. She blushed a little and turned away. "What? He's rather fit for a teacher."

Festus rolled his eyes.

The first years lined up as Headmistress Wendelin stood up and made her way to the podium where she began to speak. She didn't say much of anything exciting except for the usual stay out of the forbidden forest, don't leave the castle after dark, and stay out of trouble spiel. There were a few vague references to Fred and Al's shenanigans which they both had a laugh over but other than that it was completely routine.

Then came the sorting hat.

The first years watched in awe as the Professor brought out the battered old hat and set it on the stool placed in front of them. As the song began I could have sworn the lights of the enchanted ceiling began to flicker.

_Our school so grand_

_Our school so proud_

_We stand a very merry crowd_

_Who could ever break us?_

_We've seen war_

_We've seen death_

_But we never broke_

_No, who could ever break us?_

_But the rifts are there_

_And we aren't as fair_

_As those outside see in_

_Someone could surely break us._

_With our petty grudges_

_And bickering factions_

_We aren't so strong_

_Watch out before they break us._

_So for the sake of our school_

_And the sake of your lives_

_Cast aside your judgements_

_Because they will surely break us._

_Stand strong_

_Stand fast_

_And stand together_

_So they can never break us._

_Because when it comes time_

_And your life is on the line_

_Trust is all you have_

_So never let them break us._

_And your silly quarrels_

_And nasty dispositions_

_Won't help when the time comes_

_Or they will always break us_

_So trust your friends_

_And don't make enemies_

_Because in the end_

_We won't let them break us._

And with that final ominous note, every light in the Great Hall went out.

There was a momentary panic and screams echoed through the room as the bright light of a spell flashed and the ceiling suddenly came back to life.

Everyone looked around to find the source of the disturbance. Several students took to laughing at the first years who had all huddled together in a big group.

Headmistress Wendelin cleared her throat. "Now some of you may find it funny to torture our new students, but I assure you that that sort of behavior won't be tolerated. You've had your fun, now let's get down to business. Let the sorting begin!"

* * *

_A/N: __This chapter was a little hard to write for me, but hopefully that doesn't show through. For the next chapter I'm going to be adding something a little different (and hopefully rather interesting) which I am very excited for!_

_If you enjoyed the story please leave a review telling me why!_

_- Chumett_


	7. The Professor Who Cried Potions Teacher

The Professor Who Cried Potions Teacher

I glanced apprehensively towards the empty chair next to me. I wasn't exactly excited to be meeting the new Potions teacher and his absence made me particularly nervous. For the past decade or two it had been extremely hard to fill teaching positions at the school and we had struggled to keep afloat. The recent retirement of our last Potions professor was expected to be a real blow to the program. But surprisingly the job was snatched up rather quickly. Bellathorne was absolutely sure that this new Professor would be a great addition to the staff, but I wasn't so sure. I hadn't exactly had a great history with Potions teachers.

"Stressing over your new colleague then Neville?"

I turned to Bellathorne who had returned to her seat. She sat with her hands clasped on the table and an amused expression on her face. I hurried to begin filling my plate and disguise my irrational fear. "No! No not at all! I'm rather excited to meet this Rowan bloke. He should be...interesting."

"Right," she nodded with mock agreement. "I'm sure everything will be perfectly fine."

Bellathorne didn't take her eyes off of me. Sweat began to form at my brow so I turned to look across the empty seat beside me at Aurora. "How was your summer, Aurora? I heard you spent some time with a few centaurs."

After the feast was over, the staff was having a meeting that night to welcome the new Potions teacher. I had managed to slip away to my office, throwing a hasty excuse at the others. It wasn't all a lie really. I did have some work to do that night before classes started the next day. There was the matter of organizing all of the schedules, making sure all of our plants arrived safely and going through the student files again to make sure I had a good idea of what I should be telling the fifth years. That night I ended up falling asleep at my desk.

.

.

After a few of the students began trickling in to the Great Hall I grabbed hold of the schedules and began making my way through those who had shown up. Most of them were first years, scared and eager to get things right. I took my time handing them out, giving the scared ones a few words of encouragement and allowing them to ask any last minute questions. I didn't see any of the Potters around, though that was a given.

Last night I had received a letter from Harry. He had wanted to see me that morning in the Headmistresses office after I had finished my business. He had seemed rather urgent, though he generally did. But there was something about this time that had me a bit on edge myself. The paper hadn't had the greatest of stories in it recently, what with the skirmish at Gringotts, those ruffians at the Leaky Cauldron and the murder of Gregory Goyle.

Crime had come to a halt after the Ministry had regained its strength and Harry had taken over as Head Auror. But it had slowly begun to pick up speed once more. Not altogether unusual but it certainly put a wizard on edge.

I wasn't particularly excited to meet up with Harry. Sure I missed the bloke sometimes but it seemed that whenever he came around something bad always happened. First it was the whole mess at Hogwarts. Then it was the debacle at the Ministry after he took over. And then it was my vacation in Egypt. But we didn't really talk much about that anymore. Having him around always served for an adventure. Poor bloke.

After I got the lot of them their schedules I hurried up towards Bellathorne's office. She had a habit of making her passwords extremely long and difficult to remember just because she could. I often found myself forgetting them.

"What a bother," I muttered as I stood outside the gargoyle, pacing. "Was it 'Banglewarts and Whizzing Whurs are Not the Same Sort'?" The gargoyle stood perfectly still. I crossed my arms and gave it a rather menacing glare. "Now really? You're perfectly capable of recognizing me now, aren't you? I've been up those stairs several times and this is rather important. Can't you just let me pass already?"

"You know it can't hear you?"

I jumped forward, clinging to the Gargoyle's beak. My heart gave a dangerous thud and I found myself clutching at my wand.

The voice had come from a woman behind me. She was tall and had blonde hair pulled loosely into a braided bun. She looked like she didn't see the sun very often and her blood red lipstick and dark eye makeup intimidated me to no end.

She had to be an auror. A woman that scary must be using her...intimidating beauty...for something rather challenging. Like torturing criminals. Or chasing murderers. Or intimidating school professors.

She gave me a funny look. I cleared my throat and released myself from the gargoyle, scratching my temple and crossing my arms. "And, uh, you are?" I asked. I glanced up as she moved around me and to the gargoyle.

"Don't Trust a Goblin With Anything But Your Money." The gargoyle jumped to life and she stepped in. I followed after her. "I'm apparently better at remembering passwords than you are."

I gave a nervous chuckle and said, "Well I am rather notorious for forgetting things."

"Hmm, a rather adverse trait to be advertising, don't you think?"

"Well, um…" I cleared my throat once again and looked up at her. Her intense gaze put me at a loss for words as I tried to gather my thoughts. I sniffled and looked away. What an intimidating woman.

The gargoyle stopped and we came to the door to the office. I could already hear voices inside. My nerves were not serving me well.

She went inside without any sweat. I went in with a constipated look on my face. As I entered Harry turned to me and asked, "Neville, Merlin are you alright?"

I snapped quickly out of it at the biting gaze of the woman. The way she looked at me made me feel like she was ripping my soul open and staring into every secret I had, judging me. "Of course. Yes. Just wonderful. It's great to see you Harry. Absolutely wonderful. How are you? How's Ginny?" Harry gave me a look. I fell quiet immediately and shook my head, putting a hand on my hip and rubbing my forehead. "No, no. I'm sorry Harry. It's just...I get nervous when you come around because that generally means something bad is going to happen. Whether the entire wizarding world or just my dignity is at stake always seems to be a matter of concern when you're around."

"Oh I see," he chuckled. "You know Neville, I'm really glad you're around. But I can't pretend that what you say isn't true. I don't always show up at the most opportune times. I owe you a lot and we should definitely change that. But for now I regretfully must carry on my unfortunate trend and deliver some bad news and a dire warning."

Headmistress Bellathorne cleared her throat and called everyone to attention. "Now that we're all here it's time that we discuss this little problem. Harry."

"Right," he muttered. "We've tried to keep this out of public eye as much as we possibly could. I'm afraid to incite riots, to be honest. But recently the aurors have been dealing with a string of murders all across Europe. So far there have only been three: Walden Macnair, a young Irish pureblood and Gregory Goyle. We have a theory that the murderer is killing former Death Eaters and their families. It's unknown really, as we have yet to identify the young Irish witch. There's something very strange about her death and the fact that we don't seem to have any records or identifiers for her. But nevertheless all precautions must be taken. We are aware that you house descendants of former suspected and convicted Death Eaters. We also have yet to rule out any other possible victim tropes that may come up. All that we know is of the three murders that have already taken place and the fact that there will be more in the months to come. What worries me the most is a statement that often comes up at the scene of the crime. It seems that the murderer or murderers seem to want us to understand that 'nowhere is safe anymore'. That message is always left somewhere on the bodies."

"Do you mean to say that the murderer might make an appearance here at Hogwarts?"

"For your sake I hope not." He grimaced and leaned up against a table. "But I can't tell you that they won't. I needed you to know this too. I can't have this school...my children...in danger where I can't protect them."

I put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry you know that won't happen. I've been watching them grow up and I've got to tell you that you've got quite the talented set of kids. And they're not alone. They've got talented friends too. And I'm always here to watch out for them."

He turned to me and said in a hushed voice, "I'm sorry to say that my motives were far more personal than this. My main reason for coming is to ask a favor of you in particular Neville because I know you know them the best and that they trust you more than anyone else here besides each other. Please keep my kids safe Neville. I know it's a lot to ask but you're the most qualified for the job."

"Kill one giant snake and suddenly you're the best damned bodyguard in the world," I sighed jokingly. Mostly it was to hide my shock (and the fear too). I gave him a pat on the back. "Don't worry Harry I'll make sure they're okay."

Harry gave a half-hearted snort and turned back to everyone else in the room. "I don't mean to scare any of you. Just keep you on your toes. We're a little stretched thin at the Ministry right now, but I've managed to secure a few rookie Aurors to stay here at Hogwarts and keep an eye on things. Not to mention Neville here, our former Auror. You should be perfectly safe. Just make sure students don't take to snooping around the castle or going into the Forbidden Forest in the dark hours."

There was a reason why I had quit being an auror. But I didn't want to say anything to anyone in the room. Most everyone seemed to be somber and anxious. I sat through the rest of the meeting feeling the very same. If Harry Potter had come all the way here it surely meant that something was going on.

* * *

_A/N: This is the first installment of my little Neville subplot. Expect more of these weeded throughout the main story!_

_- Chumett_


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Waking up early was not something that I had ever liked. All it did was serve the purpose of reminding me how much work I had to do that day. It was one of those rare years where we had a whole weekend before lessons began, but I still had to find everyone else that had been in my study group to see if they still needed the help. There was also the matter of talking to Hagrid about helping him with his Care of Magical Creatures class on Friday mornings since I no longer had Transfiguration.

Professor Sinistra was handing out schedules to everyone. When she handed me my schedule she leaned down and said, "I'll see you in my office at five o'clock tonight Miss Leoncourt."

I gave her a nod and she proceeded down the table of students. My schedule seemed to be in order. There was even a timetable attached for Earth Magic and Ancient Studies. This year really would be a busy one.

"Hey there early bird looks like you've got quite a bit on your plate." James was looming above me, still in his pyjamas with his arms crossed.

"Sleep is for the weak," I said turning back to my breakfast. He gave a soft chuckle and I smiled. "And where is your boyfriend Maverick? I wasn't aware that the two of you could be apart for so long."

He gave a yawn and twirled his hand. "Oh he's coming down soon. He wanted to sleep more but I needed to eat something before I exploded so I left him. Then I saw you and figured I'd say hello before returning to my people."

"Your people. Alright messiah," I scoffed.

He ruffled my hair a little before heading off to the Gryffindor table where Neville was handing out their schedules. I tucked mine into my robes and started picking at my eggs. Once more and more people started coming in I kept my eye out for Ferra, Penelope and Gustance. They were the only ones I hadn't been able to find last night. Ferra and Gustance were the first I saw. They were heading towards the Slytherin table.

"Ferra! Gustance!"

They stopped and turned to me.

"Oh hey Elizabeth," Ferra said smiling.

"How are you guys?"

Gustance shrugged. "Well enough."

"I hope that's good." He smiled a little. "So how were your marks in Muggle Studies?"

Ferra clapped her hands together and looked on at me brightly. "You've done so much for me Elizabeth! I actually got an Outstanding! I couldn't believe it."

"Yeah, well unfortunately for me I jumped into that train a little too late. I, uh, I'm going to have to retake the class this year," Gustance muttered. He clenched his jaw and rocked back on his heel.

"Well that's no problem," I shrugged. "Just come by when you need the help. I'm usually in the libraries on break hours as well if you ever need me."

He gave me a discouraged grin before saying his goodbyes and slinking over to the Slytherin table. Ferra sighed and turned back to me. "His parents are really upset with him. Threatened to disown him and everything. I don't think things are going too well for him at home." She wrung her hands. "Told him not to come for Christmas and everything."

"Just because of a grade?"

"Well, you know what people say about his parents," she murmured to me. "He won't even talk about it to me so I don't even know if it's true. But if people are going around saying things like that then there has to be something wrong at home."

I watched after him as he slumped into the bench and didn't even touch any food. "Just be there for him Ferra, okay? And don't try to talk about the Death Eater thing. He's probably got enough on his plate with his parents being the way they are. Having to talk about how they might be Death Eaters probably isn't on his list of things he loves to do."

She nodded, gazing sadly after him. "You'll make sure he does well, right?" She shook her head and turned to me. "I mean, it's not your responsibility but please, try and help him as much as you can?"

"Absolutely."

Reassured, she hurried over to him and sat down to eat.

What a mess for him to be in. He was such a nice guy and had a good head on his shoulders. It's just that the muggle world was hard for him to comprehend. When I told Hermione about the tutoring that I did she was quite surprised. She talked about how easy Muggle Studies had been when she was in school. When I showed her the things that we had to do now she was rather excited to know that the school was teaching so in-depth about muggles. It was only now that wizards had begun to recognize the importance and intelligence of muggles. Nothing too extraordinary, but there were people and agencies within the Ministry actively following the muggle events and learning more about them as an entire community.

Most everyone that had passed Muggle Studies had either decided not to take it or felt confident enough that they wouldn't be attending the study sessions regularly. It looked like this year's study sessions were going to be very small.

Dealing with all those people that morning had worn me out. The library and common room were most likely full since everyone was probably trying to finish all the homework they hadn't done over the summer. I opted to spend my afternoon under the shade of a tree in between Hagrid's cabin and the lake. I set up my bag like a pillow against the trunk and laid back, putting my hands behind my head and nestling into the grass. It was a perfect day for a nap and this would probably be the last chance I had to do so.

Madison would be starting on Monday as well. I wondered how she was doing. She would have been excited to start that painting class she had signed up for. I would have to get pictures of her projects when she started working on them. She was an amazing painter and her watercolors paintings were absolutely beautiful. One summer she had several of her paintings on display at the local museum for some sort of charity event. She won an award and everything. There was even a small sum of scholarship money to go along with it. It was a really proud moment for all of us.

Mum would be searching for another job. She had said something about the library and organizing. With all the time Madison and I spent there and her acquaintance with the librarians it seemed like it would be a shoe-in. But until then I would have to compensate.

Speaking of which there was still the matter of talking to Hagrid. The school paid me to help him on Fridays in a sort of internship. It wasn't much, but it was money that I could use to send home so I didn't mind it.

"E-excuse me?"

I opened an eye and peered up at the silhouette of a slight looking group. "Can I help you?"

"Um, yes." I sat up and directed my attention to the blonde girl who was standing nervously amongst her two friends. "Are you Elizabeth Leoncourt?"

"I am."

She glanced at the two boys who nudged her on. "We heard that you had study sessions for Astronomy and Muggle Studies?"

"I do."

"Do you happen to tutor second years in Astronomy?"

I sit up more. They're definitely intimidated by me. "Well sure. I normally only have fifth, sixth, and seventh years in my group but if you're willing to come I'd be willing to help you."

"Well there's a few of us."

"How many?"

"Seven."

"_Seven_?"

"Y-yeah." She clamps her hands together in front of her, mistaking my shock for anger.

I shake my hands at her. "No, no that's fine. Perfectly fine. I'll just...I'll have to talk to the Professor about maybe using a classroom now. That's...wow, that's thirteen kids now."

"Oh...um, what room?"

"Here. Just write down all your names for me here and what house you're in and bring it back. I'll sort everything out this week and tell you what time and where by Thursday night. We'll meet after lessons on Friday I just need to get a few things set up first," I said handing her a roll of parchment.

She nodded. "I'll bring this back in just a minute."

Her and her friends jogged back up to the castle where a group of eager students were waiting. I stretched my legs out in front on me and ran my hand through my hair. That feeling of exhaustion was creeping slowly up on me. I could feel it just behind my eyes.

After the girl had come back to me with the list a few more younger students approached me as well, asking about my availability. By lunch time I had sixteen people who wanted to join my study group. I would definitely need a classroom.

I headed in the Great Hall to eat lunch. Just outside I was stopped by a tall, handsome Keeper.

"Hello Maverick."

"Hey Elizabeth," he grinned sheepishly. "Uh, this is kind of embarrassing for me, but I had a question to ask you."

"Sure, what is it?"

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well I was wondering if you had any more room in that tutoring group of yours. I didn't do so hot in Astronomy last year and my mum's really been on my case about getting a better grade."

"Oh," I said rather surprised. I don't know what I had expected. Part of me had hoped that he would confess his undying love of Rose but even I knew that was unlikely. "Sure Maverick. I'm just putting together some details so I'll finalize everything with you by Thursday."

"Sounds good," he said. He lingered a moment longer, creating a sort of awkward silence. He rubbed the back of his neck. "So, uh, how was your summer then?"

I started in to the Great Hall and he followed. "It was rather boring," I shrugged. "How about yours? I heard your dad took you to Romania to look at dragons."

His big brown eyes got even bigger. "Merlin that was fantastic! You ever see one of those things Elizabeth? They're enormous! And incredibly dangerous. It's exciting. And learning all about them was amazing too. The dragonologists there were intelligent and scarred and experienced. Did you know that dragon blood has twelve different uses? Like everyday uses? Like cleaning ovens? How ridiculous is that? One of the smaller dragons was even getting a little unruly and they were going to have to subdue it and they asked me to help them._ Me._ I stunned a dragon! It was the coolest thing I've ever seen. I was so interested by it all I opted to take Care of Magical Creatures this year."

He had become so enthralled in his colorful retelling that he had walked to the other side of the Ravenclaw table with me. When he had realized it, he lowered his arms and glanced around awkwardly. I could see how Rose had developed a bit of a crush on him. He was rather cute when he scrunched his nose like that.

"Sounds like you had a good time," I laughed.

He grinned. "You have absolutely no idea."

"You know I help Hagrid teach that class on Fridays."

"No way! That's when I have it. Look do you know if—?"

Our conversation was interrupted by a rather tall, golden haired girl coming from behind him. "Oh, hello Maverick. What are you doing at the Ravenclaw table."

That dumb grin of his wiped away and he looked down at Pepper with red cheeks. "Oh, um, I'm just talking to Elizabeth about...stuff."

"Stuff?" she laughed. Her laugh sounded like honey but it was forced. So far it seemed like Rose was right about her liking him. "Well that sounds extremely interesting."

He stepped back. "Right. Well, I should get going. I'll see you later Elizabeth. Um, bye Pepper." With that he jogged off to the Gryffindor table and settled himself next to James, who was tossing his hands in the air, probably making up some extravagant story about his summer to excite the first years.

She looked at me and smiled before heading down to the far end of the table to sit with her friends. I sighed and got to eating right away. I always seemed to be ten times hungrier at school. Maybe it was because there was so much food here for me to eat. But that was okay. By the time Christmas hit you wouldn't be able to see my ribs anymore, and I was extremely excited for that.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with old friends, talking to the Muggle Studies professor about my tutoring group and talking to Hagrid about helping him on Fridays. He was all too excited to start again.

By that time it was a quarter till five. I rushed into Professor Sinistra's office.

"Miss. Leoncourt," she said in greeting. There was someone else in the room, sitting in the second chair in front of her desk.

"Professor."

"I was just finishing up my discussion with Mr. Malfoy. Please have a seat. I think I have something for you to do this year."

And sure enough, Scorpius Malfoy turned around and met eyes with me.


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Scorpius turned away immediately and sat rather stiffly in his chair. I came tentatively forward and took my own place in the seat next to him. Professor Sinistra gave me a meaningful look before she went in to her proposition.

"Firstly, I have become aware that you require a classroom for your study group and perhaps use of the Astronomy Tower?"

"Yes I do. There are over twenty people who want to participate in at least one subject and I just don't think the library will suffice anymore."

"Wonderful," she said with a smile. "I'll check around and see if I can find one for you. As for the Astronomy Tower, you can use it on Saturday nights during the evenings."

That took quite a load off my shoulders. "Thank you Professor."

"Now on to the reason why I've called you and Mr. Malfoy here," she said looking between the both of us. I glanced at Scorpius who was still completely silent and statuesque. "I have received a request from the Malfoy family to provide tutoring for Mr. Malfoy in the subjects of Astronomy and Muggle Studies. We were in the middle of discussing his joining your study group. However, Mr. Malfoy is being rather stubborn and insists he doesn't need the help."

Scorpius sneered and turned his head away from the both of us.

I was rather surprised that Scorpius needed help in any subject. Whenever I saw him he was studying something. And it seemed odd for him to refuse help if he really did need it. But then again…

"Scorpius?" It seemed rather obvious why he wouldn't want to join my study group. "Can I talk to you in the corridor?"

He turned to me with a cautious expression. I stood up and gestured towards the door. He looked at the Professor and then back to me before getting up and following me out.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"I'm not Albus Potter so stop looking at me like I am," I said giving him a look. That threatened glare of his slowly melted away as he looked on at me surprised. "I have no problem with helping you with your classes but I can understand if you'd be hesitant to join the study groups. If you want you can come after they're finished and I'll tutor you privately."

"Why?"

"Because you need help and I'm offering it," I snapped. "Does it matter why?"

His glare returned. "Yes it does matter why. It very much matters why."

"How about you take my offer and stop questioning me like I've done something wrong?"

He leaned down towards my face. "How about you just tell me why the hell a girl like you would ever offer to help someone like me?"

I leaned in closer to him with a sneer on my face and jabbed his chest with my finger. "Maybe it's because I would want someone to help me if I were you."

There was a long moment of silence in which he stood straight and stared down at me, contemplating my words. His face relaxed and he looked away. "Fine Elizabeth." He put a hand on his hip and rubbed his eyes with the other. "I—"

"Are you two done then?" Professor Sinistra said from the doorway.

"Finished," I muttered turning back inside. Scorpius followed slowly after and we both took a seat once again.

The Professor looked between us. "Have you sorted everything out then?" I gave a curt nod. "Good. I shall inform Mr. Malfoy of our agreement. Don't be shocked if he sends you letters personally now Elizabeth. He seemed quite adamant."

"Right."

She dismissed the both of us. Scorpius rushed from the room without a word. I shook my head. That 'guy like me' bull shit he always pulled bothered me to no end. Sure his parents were suspected Death Eaters and sure everyone knew about how the Malfoys had a hand in the last Wizarding War. But he wasn't his father. And yet he acted like that somehow had chained him into this never ending role of being a horrible person. Sure, people would be less inclined to trust him or to befriend him, but I had never seen him try to break that preconception.

My trail of thought stopped when I realized how unfair I was being. Maybe there was something else. Maybe he had tried. I supposed I was being a hypocrite.

I was surprised when I found him leaning against the wall further down the corridor. When he saw me he strode towards me with his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry Elizabeth."

That was a shock. "For what?"

"For the way I talked to you," he said with a limp shrug. "You were just trying to help and I was a jerk. And I'm sorry."

Yeah, there was definitely something else.

"That's okay," I said immediately dropping my anger at him. "Well it's not okay. You shouldn't do that if you want people to like you. But I forgive you."

He kept his eyes on the ground but a hint of a smile appeared on his face. "And thank you for agreeing to help me. I, uh...just thanks."

We walked back to the common room in silence. It wasn't one of those awkward silences where I felt like I should be talking to him either. It was a nice and comfortable silence where I was welcome to my own thoughts and he was welcome to his.

Once we got to the stairs he stopped.

"Are you coming?"

He hesitated at the bottom. "Um, yeah. I'll just come up later or something."

"Why?"

"I...have something to do," he said. But he didn't move.

I took another step up. "Alright Scorpius. But just so you know I also don't have a problem walking in with you." He looked up at me but stayed glued to his spot. I sighed. "I'll see you later."

.

.

Classes officially started on Monday morning. Professor Sinistra had taken the opportunity to go through classes with all of us sixth years on Sunday and given us another chance to question her about our schedules and make any changes. I had seen Scorpius only during lessons but he had an uncanny ability to disappear afterwards. I noticed that he generally sat alone and when he didn't (in the case of our Potions class, which we share with the Hufflepuffs) he is just outright ignored and shunned. On Tuesday I took the opportunity to sit with him during Ancient Runes.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I think I'm sitting," I said. I looked down at my chair and checked the position of my legs. "What a shock, I was right! Definitely sitting."

He gave me a look but I could tell he was a little amused. "I meant why are you sitting next to me?"

"Because I need to talk to you," I said. "I've just finished talking with the Professor. There's an empty classroom in the dungeon that she's given me permission to use. I'll be having my tutoring group meet there from four to six on Fridays. You can come in at six after everyone's left and we can work on Muggle Studies. On Saturdays Professor Sinistra has offered to let me use the Astronomy tower. The study group will meet in the evening at eleven o'clock. You should plan on showing up at midnight and we'll see what we can do about Astronomy."

"You're giving up your Saturday night for us?" he asked rather surprised.

"Yes."

"Why?"

I didn't know what to say to that. I clasped my hands in my lap and glanced up at him. "Because I have to," I murmured.

Just then Professor Dunn strode in. "Afternoon class! I see everyone is here. I hope you're all ready for another exciting year in Ancient Runes."

I set my things down and ended up sitting with Scorpius for the rest of class. It was odd to see how many people seemed so interested in such a minute event but I noticed them staring when I offered to share my book with Scorpius who had misplaced his. Even he seemed surprised at my generosity, if it even was that. It was almost sad to see how shocked he was at such a simple thing. It made me start reevaluating him.

.

.

That night I opted to sit at the Gryffindor table with Rose for dinner.

"You know I talked to Maverick a few days ago," I told her.

"Really? What did he say?" She was trying to hide her excitement I could tell.

I smiled. "He's joined my study group."

"Oh?"

My smile stretched wider. She knew I had an idea I could see it in her eyes. "Yes. And I got to thinking, you know it would really be a great idea if I had someone to help me out maybe a few times a month. Someone else who had a great sense of the Muggle world. And then I thought, who better to ask besides Rose Weasley?"

"That is a rather good thought," she said nodding her head. "I'm sure I can find time in my schedule to stop by every once in a while to offer a little aid. Because you are such a dear friend and I do so want to help you out. No other ulterior motives present here."

I laughed and picked at a chicken wing. "I thought you might like that idea."

* * *

_A/N: I hope you've enjoyed the story up to this point. Please take the time to leave some constructive criticism or any comments you may have in a review!_

_- Chumett_


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

When I had gone and gathered my things to bring down to the tutoring session I had completely forgotten the Muggle Studies and Astronomy textbooks. Feeling rather stupid I had rushed back up to get them and managed to go down the wrong corridor in my haste. After having finally gotten back on track I saw I was ten minutes late.

When I entered the room everyone was still around. They were huddled together around one table, peering at something one of the second years was holding.

"What are you all looking at?"

Maverick turned to me with a grave face. "Come look at this article, Elizabeth."

I set my things on the empty teachers' desk and strode forward. The group split apart so I could make out the headline.

"ENTIRE WIZARDING FAMILY MURDERED, ONLY SURVIVOR IMPRISONED IN AZKABAN"

"The Nott family," I said surprised. "The oldest Nott was a Death Eater wasn't he?"

Maverick nodded. "Yeah. He's also the only one alive."

The second year offered me the paper and I took it to read. Apparently there was no information about the cause of death just yet, but there were some distant shots of the crime scene and several aurors moving around it. Harry must have known something about it and I suspected that James would be writing to him very soon. I handed the paper back to the second year. "Save that for dinner, alright? Let's work on Muggle Studies now."

Everyone took a seat as I began pulling everything out.

"Alright everyone, let's start by—" I finally looked at Maverick. Really looked. My eyebrows rose. "Uh, what happened to your hair?"

He put a hand on his head. "You like it? James turned my hair this color and it grew about two feet. I had to ask Rose to cut it for me."

Everyone chuckled.

"Yeah it looks good. Just a little strange at first I guess." It was a bright blonde-yellow color and it had been cut into a faux hawk. It was such a stark contrast to his mocha colored skin that it would need some time to get used to.

"Funny, that's what she said."

"It should be interesting to see you play Quidditch like that. You've already got that celebrity image going. Now all you need is an eyebrow ring." He seemed to genuinely be contemplating the idea. "Alright, alright. Now on to the fun stuff...school! First off, let's get everyone's name and year, then we can go through any assignments you have due and we'll get a general idea of the topics we'll need to be discussing."

We spent a good thirty minutes going through names and making a list of all the topics being discussed in second through seventh year. The second years were mostly around for Astronomy since they didn't have the Muggle Studies class yet, so they took the time to sit with each other in the very back of the classroom and talk about Astronomy together to see if they could figure some of it out.

"So it looks like the three big topics we should start discussing tonight are electricity, communication and transportation, and muggle potions. We'll start with electricity as this has a major role in what most Muggles do. In order to understand the basic fundamentals of electricity you are also going to want to understand the principles of science. I would suggest you take notes." I pick up a piece of chalk and scribble the word 'science' on the blackboard while everyone pulls out paper. "Science is to muggles as magic is to wizards. Science is a way for Muggles to understand and interpret the world. Muggles use science to explain everyday events like weather, nature and the creation of life. It is a form of logic. There are many scientific principles in place today, but for now we're going to focus on neutrons, electrons, and protons and electric charges. This will help you make better sense of electricity as a whole. It is not required for the Muggle Studies O.W.L but it will be advantageous for you to know."

We spent an hour going over the scientific principles of electricity. Most everyone seemed to get it on a basic level, which was good. I had to take some time to explain it to the third and fourth years in simpler terms but eventually we came to the same consensus. We moved on to the topic of communication and transportation, which they drew into our discussion about electricity. They understood how important electricity was for Muggles and the third and fourth years had even begun to start their essays which were due back on Monday. The fifth years were easier to help since their essay was about transportation and communication. They were a little rocky on the subject but once we spent about twenty minutes going over the different types and the simple ways they worked they had gained enough understanding to begin their essays as well. For the sixth and seventh years we spent some time discussing Muggle potions.

"Now it's probably best not to look at them as muggle potions simply because I don't want you to confuse them with our potions. They have the same fundamental purpose: to change, heal or enhance. But they're very different in the way they are made and used."

I pulled out an old table of the elements I had back from my sixth year in muggle school. "This table here should be on page four hundred and two in your books, along with a table of herbs and plants muggles use on the next page. "

As they were flipping through the pages of their book the door opened.

"Excuse me?"

I looked up to see Pepper standing there with her bookbag over her shoulder, looking rather flustered.

"What do you need Pepper?"

"Where's the teacher in charge of this study group?" she asked as she came in.

I stood up. "That would be me."

"Oh," she said a little surprised. "Um, I know I'm a little late but can I squeeze in?"

"A little late is a bit of an understatement Pepper. You've missed a lot of important information but if you're capable of getting caught up I have no problem with you being here."

She smiled and set her things down. "Great."

I turned to Jesse who was getting close to finishing her essay. "Jesse can I ask you to share your notes on electricity with Pepper and help her to get caught up with the rest of the group?"

"Absolutely," she said picking up her notes and heading over to the table Pepper had situated herself in.

I turned back to the group of sixth and seventh years. Maverick looked at me with raised brows and I shrugged a little. "Alright, where was I?"

Throughout the rest of the session I noticed that Pepper was paying more attention to Maverick than she was to Jesse's notes. Of course Maverick was oblivious to it (perhaps because he was actually working). It occurred to me that Pepper had never really seemed all that troubled in Muggle Studies and I wondered if she even really needed the help at all. It seemed more likely that she was just here because Maverick was.

As the study session came to an end I said, "When you finish your essay feel free to bring it to me to read over. Just make sure you do so by Sunday morning so I have enough time to look at them and get them back to you so you can correct them."

Everyone was packing up to leave and I saw Pepper make her move towards Maverick. I couldn't help but eavesdrop.

"Hey Maverick," she said, perhaps a bit too cheery.

"Oh, hello Pepper. How are you?"

"Pretty good. I'd ask the same of you but I'm a little more interested in what happened with your hair."

He laughed a little. "Oh yeah. Blame James. He cursed me and it turned out like this."

"So what are you going to do with it now?"

"Well, I actually like it," he said.

She smiled. "Really? It's just so bright and silly. That actually kind of suits you. I like it."

"Yeah. Bright and silly." He hauled his bag over his shoulder. "I'll see you around Pepper."

I watched her smile at him as he left, but I saw the waver in her expression as she headed out the door. She was probably hoping to walk with him to dinner. Instead he came up to me.

"What do you need?"

"I was going to walk with you to the Great Hall. You coming?"

I shook my head. "I've actually got someone coming down for a private session just now. But thanks anyway. Tell Rose and Al for me, would you?"

"Absolutely," he said as he headed out.

"We'll see you next time," Gustance and Ferra said as they dropped a few sickles on the table. A few others followed suit.

I waved as everyone left.

Once they were gone I went about straightening up the room. There was nothing much besides a few crooked tables and some crumpled papers. It didn't bother me too much, mostly because it would die out eventually.

As I was clearing the coins from the table and depositing them into an envelope in my bag Scorpius walked in.

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Is that money?" he asked setting his bag down and coming up from behind me.

I sniffled. "Yes it is." He looked down at me for a moment but then turned back to his things and began taking them out. "So you've got the essay to work on now. Is there something in particular that you need help with?"

He looked a little ashamed as he sat down and said, "Well, everything about it really. I've got the similarities down but I'm not sure I really understand the difference between muggle potions and magic potions."

"Let's start by thinking of them in different terms," I said pulling up a chair. "The things muggles use aren't really potions. Think of them more as chemical mixtures. There are no magical properties used in the creation of muggle mixtures and they are dependent solely on the properties of science."

The look on his face showed me that he still didn't understand.

I smiled. "That's okay," I said answering his unspoken question. "Look at it this way: you have an egg. There are two different styles of egg that you can make. You can scramble them or you can boil them. You start out with the same exact ingredient but the way you cook them and the resulting product are completely different. That's how magical potions and chemical mixtures are different."

"Okay," he said hesitantly. It was starting to come to him I could tell, there was just something missing from the explanation.

"When muggles make these chemical mixtures they use the natural properties that come with the ingredient being used. If you've looked at the table of herbs in the book you might notice a few magical ingredients too. Muggles use them in their mixtures, it's just that for some reason they aren't able to access the magical properties that wizards can. For example, you know that nettles can be used for improving the glossiness of hair and be used for a Boil-Cure Potion. However, muggles use nettles as a cure for certain skin diseases and other healing properties."

"Alright, I think I get it. I just don't really know all that much about science. Can we talk about that?"

"Absolutely!"

We spent a good forty-five minutes discussing chemistry and the biology of plant life. I had a limited knowledge of the subject (only the things I had gathered from Madison's textbooks and the things I had learned in muggle school) but it was just enough to help Scorpius understand. He even had a little time to start his essay. I took the time to begin mine as well. For a while we sat in silence, writing, until he said, "It's already seven thirty. We should go eat dinner." He closed his book and rolled up his parchment. He pulled an envelope from his bag. "This is from my father to you."

I took the letter. "I'll open it tonight."

"Hold on," he said as I started putting my things away. "Put this in that envelope of yours."

He made me hold out my hand and then dropped five—no seven!—galleons in my palm. I gasped and looked up at him. "I can't take this," I said shoving the money back at him. "No way. Not a chance."

"Yes you can Elizabeth. I'm paying you for this. For tutoring me," he said eyeing me. He slung his bag over his shoulder and leaned down to me. "You decided to help me and so I'm going to help you."

"But—"

"Let's get going," he said walking towards the door. "I'm hungry."

I jogged after him. "Scorpius this is ridiculous. This is way too much."

"I'm not going to talk about it, Elizabeth," he said gruffly.

"And I'm not a charity case!"

He stopped and glared down at me. "And I'm not offering you charity. You taught me something that a Hogwarts professor couldn't. I gave you that money because you deserved it not because I feel bad for you. Now will you just take it?" I fell silent and crossed my arms. There was something to what he was saying. There was no reason for me to feel guilty about taking the money. Besides a tutoring session like that would have cost just about the same amount in the muggle world.

"Excuse me? What are you two doing down here?"

We both looked up to see Professor Riley standing at the fork in the corridor. She had on some strangely intimidating makeup and looked as though she might just kill me in the most fabulous fashion.

"Professor why have you got all that makeup on?"

She looked taken-aback but then suddenly she came to and laughed a little. "Oh it's just a little joke I have going with a few of the other Professors. I don't look like this because I want to, trust me." She waved her wand and the makeup disappeared and that young happy glow came back to her face. "Though I do find it quite fun to wear sometimes. It certainly puts everyone in a flustered state."

I really loved her. "Sorry professor. We were just heading up to the Great Hall from a study session."

"Oh no problem! I was just wondering why a couple of Ravenclaws would be down here at this hour. Don't go doing anything too devious now alright!" With that she drifted off.

Scorpius looked extremely confused. I couldn't help but laugh at him.

The Great Hall was more populated than I thought. I saw Rose and Al still seated, picking at some desserts. I said goodbye to Scorpius before heading over to them.

As I approached I saw James stick his head up and wave me over.

"What is it?"

He put a hand on my shoulder and pulled me down closer to him. "Hey, Scorpius didn't give you any trouble did he?"

"Absolutely not!" I said, getting prepared to beat back any protests he had.

I was surprised when he smiled and put up his hand. "Now hold on, hold on! I didn't think he would I just wanted to make sure. You know he came to talk to me a few days ago about you."

"What?"

"That's what I thought," he said with a nod. "I just thought you should know that he asked me about your family situation and I told him. Not everything of course, but a little. He said he wanted to help you because you were helping him. I just wanted to make sure that that is what was really going on."

"Well yes. He paid me a lot of galleons for that session. I just...I didn't expect…" I glanced over at the Ravenclaw table to see him watching the scene intently. When I caught eyes with him he looked away. "If you'll excuse me James I need to go send this to my mum."

As I headed out I grabbed Rose by the arm. "You need to come with me."

She got up and followed quickly after me. "What is it? You look upset."

"Upset? No. Just surprised and a little emotional is all. But that's not what I wanted to talk to you about. I wanted to tell you about what happened with Maverick today."

"Uh-oh. That doesn't sound like a 'he-confessed-his-love-for-you' kind of voice," she said.

I shook my head. "It's not. But it's not entirely bad either." I pulled out the envelope of money from my bag and put the galleons that I still had clenched in my fist inside of it. Rose eyed it but didn't say anything. "Pepper showed up today at the study group."

"Oh?" She asked uneasily.

"Yeah. I doubt that she really needed the help either. She showed up late and spent most of her time making puppy eyes at him behind his back."

She frowned. "That seems a little desperate."

"If you're referring to the puppy dog eyes then I should call you a hypocrite."

"No," she laughed. "I just meant showing up late and sitting there for an hour just to stare at a guy."

"Yeah, well, that's probably normal. Don't you think you'd do the same if you could?"

She was silent for a minute. "You're probably right. I just don't like her because I like him and so does she."

"Don't worry about it Rose. You're only human." When we got to the owlery I took out parchment to write a letter back home. "Besides you're going to look ten times cooler up there showing everyone what you know."

She talks about her day and about how she cut Maverick's hair and Quidditch tryouts while I write back to my mum and tell her what had happened with Scorpius. I made it as brief as I can before tucking the letter into the envelope and attaching it to one of the Hogwarts owls. It would have taken me much longer to make that amount of money and send it home. I smiled in satisfaction. They would be so surprised.

"Where were you this morning? I didn't see you in Care of Magical Creatures."

"I had to talk to Professor Longbottom. He had accidentally given me a second herbology class that morning that conflicted with Hagrid's and I hadn't noticed."

I was tempted to tell her that Maverick was in that class as well and tell her all about his trip to Romania. But it wouldn't have been any fun if I told it to her. She had to hear it from him. So for the moment I refrained.

"Were those galleons that you had sent home? How'd you get those if you don't mind me asking? I don't suppose Al finally got you to accept them from him?"

"Not at all. And that will never happen," I said giving her a look. She just shrugged. "I am now tutoring someone privately. He...he was nice enough to pay me that much."

"Oooh. Tutoring a bloke privately now are we? Who is it? Is he cute?"

I hesitated. Did I really want to tell her that it was Scorpius Malfoy, the boy who her cousin had sworn was evil? She would surely tell Al who would surely berate me for it. But then again what kind of person would I be if I hid that from her. I certainly had no problem with Scorpius so it shouldn't matter what she thought of it. I looked her in the eye and said, "It's Scorpius."

"Scorpius _Malfoy_?" When I nodded her eyebrows pulled up in a sort of judgmental expression. "Wow. I certainly hadn't expected that. And you would accept money from him and not from Al?"

"Now that's a completely different story. You and Al are trying to give me charity. He paid me for tutoring him. It's very different."

"How so? Al offered you money to help out and now Scorpius has. You don't even know him and yet you can take that sum of money from him and not from us?"

I look at her incredulously. "You know it's not like that! There's a difference between charity and payment. Scorpius wasn't trying to help me...he was…" I suddenly realized that that is exactly what James had said he had told him. And Scorpius said it to my face as well. He _was_ trying to help me. "...No he was just paying me."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," she said critically. She crossed her arms.

I ran my fingers through my hair. "I-I'm not. It's just...goddamit." I rubbed my face and forced myself not to cry. Don't cry. I couldn't cry! "I've got to go Rose."

I jumped up and rushed from the owlery back to the Great Hall. It was mostly empty but Scorpius was still sitting at the table eating his dinner. I walked up to him, closer to tears than I would have liked to be. I felt so _guilty_ for sending that money back home when I shouldn't have even had it in the first place. He looked at me as I sat down next to him, avoiding his eyes.

"Scorpius," I managed to choke out. He set down his fork. "I can't have you paying me alright. I...I just can't take your money. So please...don't do it again. I don't want to talk about it and it isn't up for debate. I-I'll see you later."

Without giving him a chance to retort I dashed back to the dorms and dove under my covers, allowing myself just a few moments to cry. I fell asleep with my shoes on.

* * *

_A/N: I've been updating a lot today. Being bed-ridden sure has its perks I guess! Please leave a review if you liked the story._

_- Chumett_


	11. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

For the next few days I avoided everyone. I was extremely tired of being around people and I needed time to think. I still wasn't sure who to believe. Was it okay that I took the money from Scorpius or wasn't it?

Al had gotten extremely upset with me on Saturday. I let him yell about how Scorpius was evil and I shouldn't be hanging around him and how upset he was that I had taken money from him until I couldn't take it anymore and just left him standing there. All throughout the day I was in a constant inner battle with my emotions and my thoughts. The only thing I had to look forward to was using the Astronomy Tower that night. I was excited to be back in my element, but dreading having to spend the one on one time with Scorpius. Thankfully Maverick came to me with a message from him.

"He told James that he wouldn't be coming tonight. Something about giving you space."

I was thankful for that but at the same time it made me uneasy. Lately I had been hearing a lot of the Ravenclaw kids whispering. I was almost certain that it was about what had happened. Even if no one had been around to witness everything they sure as hell probably knew every detail of it. I certainly wasn't mad at Scorpius and I didn't want him to think I was, but I didn't want to talk to him just yet.

With my wits strung about as far as they could go I found myself knocking on Professor Longbottom's office door.

"Come in."

I took a tentative step inside to see him scrambling to pick papers up off the floor. "Oh...should I come back another time Professor?"

"No, no you're fine. I just dropped these," he said shuffling them and stacking them back on his desk. He turned to me surprised. "Oh. Elizabeth. What are you doing here?"

"Um, I know you're not my Head of House or anything, but I came because I had a more personal question."

He sensed the strain in my voice and offered me a chair and a sweet. "Go ahead Elizabeth."

"You know how I work a lot during the school year to send money back to my family?" He nodded his head. "Well, I recently started tutoring Scorpius."

"I don't suppose Al was too happy about that," he said flatly.

"No," I laughed humorlessly. "No he wasn't. He gave me a piece his mind that's for sure. But I can deal with that myself. My problem has to do with the amount Scorpius paid me."

"Oh?"

I nodded. "He gave me seven galleons for an hour and a half of tutoring. At first I told him that it was too much money, but he insisted, telling me that he was trying to pay me for a service, not give me charity. So I took it and I sent it home. But then when Rose questioned me about it and I told her, she got upset with me, asking me why I could take money from someone that I barely knew instead of a family that I've been around forever. And it made me think. Scorpius told me he was trying to help me because I had helped him. He straight up told me that he was giving me charity. And now I feel guilty for taking it, Rose is mad because I did, Al is mad because I'm tutoring Scorpius and Scorpius is having all the blame placed on him. I just...I don't know what to do and I didn't know who else to talk to about it that wouldn't judge me."

He sat there quietly for a moment. After a while of thought he cleared his throat and said, "Now I'm sure you know that Al and Rose have no animosity towards you. I think that they just may be very confused about how you handle the subject of money. They don't understand what you're going through because they've never been in the position of not having enough. They think that just throwing money at the problem is going to solve it and they probably don't understand why you don't feel the same way about it. Does that make sense?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. Now it doesn't excuse them acting the way they have but maybe it'll help you understand where they're coming from so you can figure out a way to tackle that problem. As for the money situation itself I think you need to talk to Scorpius, because I'm assuming you haven't yet." I shook my head. He gave me a knowing look. "RIght. You really need to talk to him Elizabeth. Because I have heard some rumors going around about him. I didn't know you were involved at first but it seems that everyone thinks that he hurt your feelings. If you don't talk to him soon he might start to think that that's what happened. Talk to him about that and then talk to him about how you feel about the money. You shouldn't put all this pressure on yourself to figure out the answer. Give him a chance to help you figure it out. I personally think that it was okay for you to accept the money. You tutored him and he paid you for it. Even if the price was a little high that's okay and even if he did want to help you that was okay too. Sometimes it's okay to get help Elizabeth. You need to learn that. You're so good at doing it for other people it's almost ironic how much you shun it in the opposite direction."

"Okay," I said meekly.

He smiled at me reassuringly. "You should give yourself a little while to think of how you want to approach him, but remember you need to do it soon. I'd suggest by the end of today if I were you. Just take an hour or so to sit by yourself and think of what I've said and then go look for him."

"Thank you Professor."

"Anytime Elizabeth."

He offered me another sweet as I went out the door. I gladly took it and made my way into the corridor. As I was heading outside I thought about what he had said.

In my cloudy state of mind I must not have been paying attention because I ran right into someone who was turning the corner.

"I'm sorry," I said immediately.

But the big man offered no reply. He hastily took off down the hallway again. I don't ever recall having seen him around before and he certainly didn't look like a student. Not with that big scar and dark black cloak. He went straight into the Professors office.

I would have to remember that because I certainly didn't have time to think about it now. I went outside and found my favorite tree once again. The Professor was right about everything and if he had heard those rumors too it meant that so had the rest of the school. No wonder Scorpius had cancelled on Saturday night. I felt so bad. But what was I supposed to say to him? I didn't even know how he would react to seeing me. And how would everyone else react? My god normally I would know what to do in a situation like this.

I was so frustrated and so tired that I eventually fell asleep. When I woke up again the sun was starting to dip down. Someone was sitting next to me, picking at the grass.

"Scorpius—"

"Before you say anything I need you to listen to me. No one wants to talk to me because they all think I'm an arse. I need to change that but it won't happen overnight so for just a few days I really need your help."

I sat up. "What is it?"

"No one knows this but I'm the Quidditch captain this year," he said. He saw the look on my face and snorted. "Yeah I know. Great choice."

"That's not...that's not what I meant."

He sighed. "I know."

I looked up towards the castle and saw almost everyone looking down here. "Let's go somewhere else to talk, okay? Everyone is looking at us."

He ripped a big piece of grass out of the ground and clenched his jaw. "Yeah okay."

We headed into the library, which was practically empty at the time and situated ourselves in a corner in the back.

"Look I really need your help getting this team together. No one is going to want to play if they know that I'm the captain. But that's how it is and I just need your help putting it all together and advertising and getting people to try out so they can be excited for the game before they find out who they have to play with."

I looked at him and I couldn't help but feel a pang in my chest. This whole situation was absolutely horrible for him.

"Of course I'll help you."

He set his forehead on the table and ran his hands furiously through his hair. "I'm sorry I just don't know who else to ask. I've put it off far too long and people are starting to wonder."

"You don't have to be sorry," I said. "Actually...I needed to talk to you too. About what happened on Friday."

He looked up at me. "I didn't think you'd want to talk about that."

"Me either. But I should so I'm going to." I took a deep breath. "I'm not mad at you and I'm not upset and you certainly didn't hurt my feelings whatsoever. So don't listen to anyone who tells you that because they know bloody nothing."

"Alright," he said sitting up straight.

I looked at him briefly before looking away. "I don't know what James told you about me but I'm sure you've got the fact that my family is poor and struggling. It's just my mum and my sister at home and my sister is a year younger than I am. She works too but she's got school and a life to worry about. My mum worked three jobs to keep up rent but she was recently let go because a place closed. Even before that I've had to do a little extra work here at school to help the upkeep but now it's just a lot more on my plate and theirs. I am extremely grateful to you for trying to help out without making it feel like charity. It's just that I've never had money before and to have it handed to me like that without having labored for it seems wrong to me. It feels like I'm cheating. I mean Jesus Christ I hardly even know you and yet I took that money so easily! I just feel so guilty about it."

"You shouldn't. Feel guilty I mean." He scooted his chair in closer and said, "I know we don't know each other that well but I've gone to school with you since I was fourteen. I see how hard you work everyday and how much you help people. Doing this for me...I'm the charity case. Not you. You deserve a break sometimes too. You deserve to be helped. I'm not going to stop paying you for tutoring me Elizabeth, but if it makes you more comfortable about it I'll pay you a little less." He paused and leaned back in his chair. "And if it makes you feel even more comfortable, I wouldn't mind getting to know you better."

"That doesn't sound like such a bad idea," I said with a smile. He grinned back. I was starting to feel a lot better. "Let's start figuring out this whole Quidditch thing. You're the Seeker, Pepper is a Chaser and Marty and Beeves are the Beaters. They'll be trying out no doubt about it whether you're captain or not. It'd be a good idea to get them in on this too. The more people you have to support you the better."

"Do you think they'd be willing to help?"

"Of course. Not because they want to be your friend though. Don't get your hopes up. You'll have to earn that from them. But they'll follow and respect you if you can prove yourself on the pitch. You're an excellent seeker. Now you just have to be an excellent coach. We can go find them tonight during dinner and talk to them about setting up try outs. They'll have to try out too of course but it will be good to have another set of hands evaluating and getting the word out."

"Right. I've talked to Professor Sinistra about it as well. She scheduled our time at the pitch in the early morning on Saturday, Sunday and Monday which gives us four days to get the word out."

"It shouldn't be too hard," I shrugged. "Normally people just show up because they saw a poster in the common room. I can post those tonight. People aren't stupid though. They're going to find out you're the Quidditch captain sooner or later. They might just think you're a coward if you hide it from them."

He pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I had thought about that too. It seems like a lose-lose situation to me honestly."

"Not entirely. If we can talk to those guys and get their help we may be able to convince everyone that regardless of who they think you are, you'll make a great captain."

He smiled.

Suddenly he remembered something and the smile wiped completely from his face. "Elizabeth?"

"Hmm?"

"What was in the letter my father sent you?"

"Oh. That? He asked for me to send him an evaluation of your skill after the first session and then to continue sending them when I felt it necessary."

He frowned. "That it?"

"Yeah. That's it."

He nodded.

.

.

That night I started putting up the Quidditch posters on the notice board in the common room. Marty and Beeves were lounging in a couple armchairs, watching me.

"Hey Elizabeth," Beeves called.

I turned to him with a, "Hmm?"

"Come here," he said waving me over. I strolled over and sat when they offered me a seat. They leaned in closer to me and Beeves asked, "So are you the Quidditch captain then?"

"No," I laughed with a shake of my head.

They both looked at each other and then let out a huge sigh of relief, falling back into their chairs. "Thank Merlin you're not. No offense love, but you're absolutely horrid on a broomstick. I thought Sinistra had gone crazy when I saw you hanging those up."

I glared at them playfully. Marty patted my shoulder. "But, uh, if you're not…mind tellin' us who is?"

"You know I think maybe he should tell you himself."

Beeves looked at me funny. "Or you could tell us?"

"Or you could just meet him first."

"Why so secret, Elizabeth?" Marty asked with a chuckle. "You're acting like it's...it's Scorpius or something."

They shared a laugh, but it quickly died when they saw that I wasn't sharing in it.

"Shit," Beeves muttered. "Are you telling me…?"

"Now, Beeves. Just hold on a minute—"

"No bloody way," he cried. "Playing with him is one thing but having him as a captain? There's no way in hell that I'm going to do that."

"Beeves," I pleaded.

Marty nudged him. "Shut it you thick-headed prat. Let her talk."

"Thank you Marty." I set the posters by my feet and leaned in a little closer so I could whisper. "Look, I know he doesn't have the best reputation even among us. But I need you to trust me when I say that he really isn't a bad guy."

"Yeah well you're a pretty girl and bad guys sometimes like to pretend to be good for them," Beeves warned.

I gave him a look. "I'm not an idiot Beeves. Just listen. I'm not asking you to be best mates. All I'm asking is that you give him a chance, meet him formally and help us get together a team. You want to play Quidditch, right?"

"Right. But—"

"You. Want. To. Play. Right?"

He looked at Marty who shrugged back at him. "Yeah. I do."

"Then just entertain me this once. Meet us in the library during breakfast and we'll talk. If you can convince her, I'd really appreciate you dragging along Pepper."

Beeves crossed his arms and looked away defiantly. "Why'd the bugger have to send a messenger? Why couldn't he have just asked us there himself? Does he think he's too cool to be seen around the likes of us?"

Surprisingly, Marty answered. "Why the hell do you think?" Beeves was just as shocked as I was. "Do you honestly believe you would have listened to him. Look mate, I'm just as iffy about this as you are but I want to play and he's a talented seeker. I'm not looking to make a friend, I just want to play a goddamn game. And if he's the captain so be it. We'll meet the guy, get a team together and see how this all works out before we start bitching and moaning."

"All right, all right," Beeves said waving his hands like white flags.

"Thank you," I stressed. "You can start helping now! Put the rest of these up."

"Oh I see what you're doing you little vixen," Marty joked. "We'll play along but we're not going to be your man servants."

"Where are you off to so late anyways?"

I laughed a grabbed my bag. "Outside to do some stargazing."

"What a shock," they muttered to themselves.

* * *

_A/N: You know, looking back on the last chapter and on to some of the things I have planned I realized that this isn't just a story, but a way for me to explore some of the finer aspects of the Harry Potter world. It's interesting to think about magic and the differences between that and science and those sorts of things. If anyone has any ideas about the world they'd like to share, thoughts about how specific things work or explanations for magic or even thoughts on the political structure and inner workings of the Ministry, please feel free to leave a review. Who knows, I might add it in to the story too!_

_A plain old review of the story would be nice too:)_

_- Chumett_


	12. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I was practically late again. It was like I forgot it was Tuesday and that I had lessons after our secret little meeting in the library. My bag and books had been completely forgotten at the foot of my bed as I hurried to the library and I had to run all the way back to get them.

Finally I had made it to the library. And just in time too. I could just see Scorpius sitting down at a table alone through the bookcases.

"Elizabeth. Hey!"

I stopped and turned at the sound of Rose's voice.

"Oh," I said a little surprised. "I thought you were still mad at me."

Her face turned bright red. "Um, no. I'm not. And I shouldn't have been in the first place. Look I'm sorry for what I said. I really shouldn't have said it at all. It was completely unfair and it hurt your feelings and it was all my fault."

"It's okay."

"No it's not," she sighed.

"I know," I said. "I just didn't want to tell you that."

"So, can this be over? Apologizing makes me really uncomfortable."

"No, being wrong makes you uncomfortable."

She laughed. "I suppose you're right. Want to head off to breakfast then? Or did you have something to do?"

I gazed through the bookshelves at Scorpius. He had out some homework that he was working on. She saw him too and gave me a look. "Don't look at me like that. You've never spoken to him so you have no room to judge."

"People keep saying that he made you cry."

"Yeah well it wasn't him that did that," I said.

She looked away, grabbing the strap of her bag and pulling it up. "Right. No room to judge. Sorry. I'll talk to Al about being such an arse and get back to you on the approximate time he will stop. In the meantime I hope we can hang out soon. I know you're busy with your tutoring and whatever this is, but find me during lunch and we can plan a time to sneak around at night sometime."

"That sounds perfect," I said smiling.

She glanced at him one more time before nodding and heading off. I sighed and made my way over to Scorpius.

"Hey," he mumbled absently when I sat down.

"You know the last person I would have expected you to talk to was James Potter."

He abandoned his work to look at me with a 'really?' face. "You know you're not the only person that's been decent to me." He slung his arm over the back of his chair. "And I'm not entirely socially incompetent you know."

"I never said you were. I'm just surprised is all," I shrugged.

Marty, Beeves, and a reluctant Pepper showed up shortly after that, all of them looking warily on at Scorpius. He closed his books and set aside his parchment. Before he could say anything, Beeves had to have a go at him.

"Alright _Malfoy_, here's the deal. We're here because Elizabeth asked us to be. Not for you. And I want to make it clear that this in no way indicates any sort of friendship between us. Having to play on the same team as a bloody Death Eater was enough but now having to follow him as a captain seems like a joke."

Marty and Pepper hissed at Beeves for the insult, but Scorpius' face was largely unchanged. He looked on at Beeves expressionlessly for a moment before saying, "Beeves I don't give a rats arse about what you think of me. I just want to play some bloody Quidditch, so how about you shut your mouth and let me get a word in before you go being a prick." His response shocked us all into silence. He continued on with that same cool face. "I'm not asking for your friendship. I'm asking for an ounce of faith and your cooperation. You don't have to kiss me in the hallway you just have to listen to me and respect me on the field. I get it. None of you trust me and I'll have to earn that respect. Fine. But until then just pretend you have an ounce of faith in me so we can at least have a team."

Beeves grimaced and looked at Marty who shrugged and looked at Pepper. She stared at Scorpius who stared right back. I watched.

"Fine," Pepper said finally.

Marty turned to him again. "We'll help you get a team together. But once that's done you're on your own and we won't be held responsible if that team falls apart."

"So you better do it right," Beeves added with a grimace.

Scorpius stood up and gathered his things. "A team is a team. If it fails I will definitely be holding each and every one of you responsible." He pushed his chair in roughly. "The blame will be put on me, but you will share the shame. So I expect just as much effort from all of you if you want to even think about winning the cup."

"And where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to watch the Gryffindor tryouts. Those are being held right now."

Beeves snorted. "And you think James Potter is going to let a slimy bastard like you in to watch those?" Scorpius just looked at him for a moment before leaving. He turned to me with a disgusted face. "Really I don't understand how you can hang out around those sort, Elizabeth."

"What sort do you mean?"

"Death Eaters," he said rather bluntly.

Pepper slapped his arm. "Beeves you know he's not a Death Eater. You can't go saying those things about people."

"Yeah, well do I Pepper?" He shook his head. "And you know I find it funny how 'bad' it is to call someone out on it when it's perfectly fine to go whispering rumors about it behind their backs. You know what people say about him. And that kid in your study group too Elizabeth. You start surrounding yourself with people like that you're going to get sucked into their dark world."

Marty shoved him a bit. "Stop being a prat Beeves."

"And you stop acting high and mighty. You know that you think the same exact thing or you at least suspect it." They were both silent. He smirked triumphantly. "Right. Now Elizabeth it's not safe hanging around him so much. And don't deny it. We're not idiots."

"Beeves I appreciate your concern even if it is insulting and unecissary. And you can think whatever you want to think. I don't know if Scorpius is a Death Eater or not. I certainly don't think he is, that's for sure. And I will continue to hang around whomever I please. All you have to do is play nice and play Quidditch, no one's asking any more of you."

"Yeah, but you—"

"Are capable of handling anything Scorpius could possibly throw at me." I stood up and gathered my things to head to breakfast. I made a face at him and said, "Like the evil 'hellos' he throws at me in the hallways."

.

.

"Al you're being ridiculous," Rose said rolling her eyes at him.

"No I'm not," he growled. He jabbed his finger in my direction. "She's fraternizing with Scorpius-bloody-Malfoy! Do you _know_ who he _is_? Do you know what his father _did_?" Rose remained silent. Al turned to me with fire in his eyes. "Do you know what he did?"

I couldn't believe we were doing this again. You'd think after years of being friends you'd learn to control your passion when it came to matters like these. In truth, it only made him even more angry that I had spent time with his sworn enemy. "You do realize that Draco is a completely separate person right?"

"Does that even matter? He was a Death Eater and that is in the blood. For all you know…" he lowered his voice and spoke gravely. "For all you know Elizabeth Scorpius could be the same."

"Or maybe you're overreacting and trying far too much to live your father's life!"

"I think she's right Al. You're overreacting."

He glared at Rose as he stabbed a piece of chicken violently with his fork. "Or maybe I'm not. Those rumors around school don't start just because. There's got to be a reason." He turned to me, pointing his fork in my direction. "You're a good girl Elizabeth. People are going to start thinking less of you if you hang around a kid labeled a Death Eater."

"Will you shut up about this? I'm perfectly capable of understanding the social ramifications of befriending him and quite frankly, I don't care. I've lived my entire wizarding life in the limelight right along side the Potter family. If being a good person means a break from all that then good! I welcome it. Anyway, I'll know which people really are my friends in the end, because the ones who really care about me would support that and understand that I'm not just a 'good girl' but an actual person who is capable of making decisions. And they are excellent decisions if I might add!"

Al grimaced and turned away. "Are you threatening to unfriend me or something?"

"Yes I am!"

"And rightfully so," Rose added.

He snorted. "Whatever Rose. You felt the same way." He tore the chicken from his fork, not even bothering to chew before he swallowed. "So don't go pretending like this is all me."

"Yeah I did. I still kind of do. But I apologized for the way I acted. And Elizabeth is right. We don't know him whatsoever so we don't have any room to judge him. You just need to get over that pride and sweltering ego of yours and let her make her own choices. You're not some kind of knight in shining armor that has to protect us all the time you know?"

"We're pretty capable of protecting ourselves."

"Whatever," he muttered.

"So you're really gunna be like that huh? Throw years of friendship away just because I decided to say hi to someone that you have no reason to hate?"

"I have all the reason in the world," he snarled. But his face relaxed when he saw how serious I was being. "For you though, I'll forget it. But I'm not going to buddy up with him anytime."

"I suppose that's enough for now."

He hunched over his food and ate silently to himself. Rose looked at me and rolled her eyes but assured me that he would get over it soon.

"So what were you doing with Scorpius anyways?"

"Well I tutor him," I told her. "But I'm also helping him get together the Quidditch team."

"What so he's the Quidditch captain?" Al snorted, sitting up.

I had had enough. "Al I'm sick and tired of you ignoring me as it is but now you're just going to be a prick. You can come and find me when you're ready to be an adult but until then don't even think of talking to me."

Rose got up and left with me, glancing back at her cousin to offer him one last chance. But he didn't take it. Instead, he flared his nostrils and hunched back over his food as if we were nothing but dust in the air.

"What a prick," Rose muttered. "I'm sorry he's being like this."

"Yeah, me too. He doesn't even have a good reason."

Rose looked uneasy. "Well, I mean Elizabeth...he is a Malfoy…"

"I cannot believe you," I said throwing her a reproachful glare. "I don't give a rat's ass if he's a goddamned Malfoy. He's still a person. And he deserves to be treated like one. The two of you have never even spoken to him before and you're here telling me that he's a horrible person. What's he done to you Rose? Hmm? Besides having a name you don't like."

She frowned. "Well, nothing. But…" I watched her carefully as she avoided my eyes. Finally, she let out a sigh and shook her head. "It's just hard to trust someone with a name like that."

"You know what I think Rose? I think that you're all so caught up in a name because that's what you all depend on. Most of the Potters and the Weasleys do. You think that you're great because of that stupid little two syllable ending. And you feel like you have to live up to it. So you do stupid things, crazy things, great things...and you hate Malfoy. Because what's having a name like that good for if you can't hate someone you deem lesser than you?"

She remained silent.

I continued. "It made sense when your dad was a kid. Draco was an arse. But now they've grown up. Now it's your turn. You need to grow up. I'm not asking you to be best friends with the guy. I'm not even asking you to like him. All I'm asking is for you to give him a chance."

"I know," she mumbled. "Just give me some time to wrap my head around the idea."

A smile stretched across my face and I nudged her arm. "That's all I can ask, isn't it?" She pressed her lips together. "Now what was that plan of yours? I hope it's something that could get us in a lot of trouble."

* * *

_A/N: I hope you all enjoy! Please review if you can!_

_- Chumett_


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